Jaylin

Noel

He played 42-of-76 snaps, well ahead of Christian Kirk (37) and Jaylin Noel (18) for Houston WR3 duties. Hutchinson isn’t providing any fantasy value outside of super deep leagues. He hasn’t scored since Week 8 and hasn’t cracked 70 yards all season.

Berrios’ inactivity interestingly reduces the Texans’ slot receiver rotation to a two-player committee, including Christian Kirk and Jaylin Noel. Berrios was listed with a quad injury this week but practiced in full. Lane is worth stashing at this time. Stroud will now miss his third straight game since suffering a brain injury in Week 9 against the Broncos. He managed one limited session on Tuesday.

Hutchinson continues to outsnap Christian Kirk (36 snaps, 1/6 receiving) and Jaylin Noel (18 snaps, 1/12 receiving) as an ancillary option behind Jayden Higgins and Nico Collins. He’s a touchdown-or-bust WR5/WR6 at this point.

He played 25 offensive snaps to Christian Kirk’s 32, heavily outproducing the veteran. (Kirk, to his credit, did notch a game-changing pass interference along with a 1/3 line on three targets.) We’d love to see the Texans spam the Noel button, but until they do, he’s hard to recommend for fantasy purposes. Playing this much, though, he’s essentially cut Kirk out of any real non-touchdown value as well.

Wow, we can see why this guy needed to see the field over Jaylin Noel (11 snaps) — Kirk was the target on the last offensive play where the Texans actually looked decent, a Davis Mills post route that glanced off his hands. The target volume says he should be better, but we’re midway through the season and he has been under 30 yards in three of the four games he has been healthy. A desperation FLEX #RevengeGame against the Jaguars awaits in Week 10.

The Texans’ Week 9 wide receiver deployment is consequential. Rookie slot WR Jaylin Noel has played very well over the last two weeks while splitting time with veteran slot WR Braxton Berrios (chest). Kirk’s return jeopardizes Noel’s access to the slot, though it is possible Kirk could take some reps on the perimeter. Berrios has been cleared to play and will be available as well. Noel is worth holding, but carries clear risk as a FLEX option with upside. Kirk is a seemingly stable, floor-oriented FLEX option.

Kirk is now on track to return for Week 9 against the Broncos, while backup slot receiver Braxton Berrios (chest) remains limited. Kirk’s expected return jeopardizes rookie slot WR Jaylin Noel’s access to the starting slot role. Noel has played very well in recent weeks, but Texans coaches could choose to keep the veteran installed as the starter. Friday’s injury report is worth monitoring.

The overall stat line is good, but Noel simply isn’t seeing the usage that Jayden Higgins is. A 44-yard play-action catch made up the bulk of Noel’s stat line in what was mostly a dink-and-dunk attack. The fact that Noel played just 31 of 80 snaps is frustrating — he looks the part of a fantasy football league winner, but the Texans simply haven’t unleashed him yet.

With Kirk sidelined in Week 7, veteran WR Braxton Berrios and exciting rookie WR Jaylin Noel split snaps. Noel led the receiving corps with 77 yards while Berrios finished with minus-one. Noel’s upside may be capped by Berrios’ presence, but he looked like the most capable, healthy Texans wide receiver last week after Nico Collins (concussion) was forced from play.

Both Collins and slot receiver Christian Kirk (hamstring) failed to practice all week. The injuries leave WRs Xavier Hutchinson, Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel and Braxton Berrios as a likely four-player platoon. While Noel led Texans wide receivers with 77 yards last week, he was stuck splitting slot snaps with Berrios. Noel can be expected to play efficiently, but he may be stuck in a positional rotation again this week. Noel, Hutchinson and Higgins are all on the FLEX radar, with Higgins and Noel likely possessing the highest upside.