Jaylin

Noel

Noel and C.J. Stroud connected on a 52-yard downfield catch that Noel barely had to let up on. He did play 34 snaps, the highest amount he’s had since Week 2, in a telling sign for how the offense is trending. Still, Noel is probably best approached as a deep league boom/bust FLEX play at this point. He’s continually played the game of one step forward, one step back.

Boutte played 35-of-52 snaps, and if that sounds low, it actually lead the team in Nick Caley’s absolutely bizarre WR platoon situation where it seems like he is trying to find someone who he trusts. Boutte looks the best of the bunch, but we can’t recommend trying to eat these non-existent fantasy points. Jaylin Noel (2/17 on two targets) and Jared Wayne (1/20 on four targets including an inexcusable drop) continue to haunt the situation.

Jaylin Noel outsnapped him 44-to-36 for the Texans No. 3 receiver role but Wayne beat Noel out by one catch, two yards, and two targets. “Man starts over again everyday, in spite of all he knows, against all he knows,” Emil Cioran once wrote. And these are the readings C.J. Stroud should get familiar with as he endures another week of this receiving corps in Week 3.

Rapoport adds that Noel is “really talented.” We agree, but the Texans have consistently played WR Xavier Hutchinson ahead of him. Noel, 24, is an explosive player, and the Texans will be looking for playmakers to contribute with WR Nico Collins (hamstring) sidelined this week. Noel is officially on the boom-bust FLEX radar in Week 2 against the Bengals.

Boutte managed just 36-of-79 snaps, third-most among Texans wideouts, as they ran weird platoons that had Jared Wayne, Jaylin Noel, and Xavier Hutchinson all on the field for at least 24 snaps. Until someone conclusively wins this job, or at least we start getting some juice that someone might win the job, it’ll be hard to start any of these receivers in fantasy football.

A real “call an ambulance, but not for me” situation here as it was reported that Noel would be out for a few weeks on Sunday. He’s likely only participating in practice in a reduced role based on that. At this point Noel is likely just a bench dart throw in most leagues despite playing objectively well last year.

NBC Houston’s Aaron Wilson noted earlier today that Noel was not participating in practice due to a finger injury, which he suffered in July, and a recent hamstring injury. It turns out Noel’s recent hamstring injury is actually a re-injury. Fellow second-year WR Jayden Higgins has the inside track to the WR2 role. Noel was set to compete with Xavier Hutchinson and WR Tank Dell for the WR3 gig. Instead, he is losing valuable preseason reps. Noel might be best viewed as an early-season waiver wire add.

Noel has been dealing with the pinky finger issue since late July, but the hamstring is a recent injury. The second-year wide receiver would ideally be competing for the WR3 role right now, and losing reps could slow him down. He is a risky dart throw, but he flashed talent at times in his rookie season.

Noel started camp on the NFI list after suffering a finger injury away from the team. The second-year receiver is now back with the team and will face stiff competition for playing time with Tank Dell now back and Xavier Hutchinson and Jayden Higgins also working with the first-team offense. Noel caught 26 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns in 17 games as a rookie.

The Texans placed Noel on the NFI list at the start of camp. He is unable to practice until the team activates him. For a second-year player who struggled to earn playing time as a rookie, this is far from ideal. Tank Dell isn’t fully participating in practice yet, meaning Xavier Hutchinson and Jayden Higgins will see plenty of reps with the first-team offense to start camp.