Xavier

Hutchinson

Through two games, Hutchinson has 15 targets and 69 yards. If you’re going to be this bad, you at least want the meme number. Hutchinson let a (admittedly hard to reel in) C.J. Stroud ball hit him in the hands in the end zone before dropping it and repeatedly struggled to finish contested catches, as he did in Week 1. Hutchinson is a fine depth receiver who has been pushed into a role he simply can’t do at the NFL level.

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.

He let two of the other three non-catches glance off his hands. Marie Kondo loves mess, so she’d love this Texans WR2 situation. Hutchinson led the four non-Collins receivers with 44 snaps. This should not be confused with him being a desirable fantasy football play.

Hutchinson also failed to execute his blocking assignment on a run play that resulted in no gain for RB Woody Marks. Playing only with the first-team offense, Hutchinson nearly hauled in a tough sideline catch that would have picked up a first down, but the pass glanced off his fingertips. It wasn’t a great outing for him, but the Texans need him all the same, with their receiving corps awfully banged up at the moment. He should not be drafted in 12-team fantasy leagues.

It’s a devastating blow for the second-year pro and the Houston offense. Higgins was set to be the team’s No. 2 wideout behind Nico Collins this season after posting 525 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie operating mostly as a downfield threat. Higgins’ absence in the Texans offense leaves the team without much depth at the position. Expect Xavier Hutchinson to take on a much more prominent role in the balanced Houston offense while Tank Dell and Jaylin Noel see a bump in snaps and routes. It’s hard to say any Texans receiver not named Nico will have much in the way of fantasy value in 2026.

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.

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.

With the Texans in skill corps injury crisis as C.J. Stroud imploded vs. Mike Vrabel’s defense, Hutchinson somehow commanded 10-plus targets for the first time in his three-year corps. Bizarre, and not a harbinger of things to come. Although Christian Kirk is headed to free agency, Nico Collins isn’t going anywhere, while rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel both intrigued in 2025. Hutchinson will probably make the 53-man roster in the final year of his rookie deal, but that’s not locked in. He has 55 catches over 49 career contests. Admittedly, 35 of those came in 2025. This coaching staff probably likes Hutchinson enough to keep him around one more year.

Hutchinson had a nice catch on Houston’s final drive to set up their go-ahead field goal, and played 54 snaps to Jayden Higgins’ 55 as both receivers were involved late in the game. It was Hutchinson’s first game over six targets all season. We don’t expect another.

Of note: Hutchinson’s snap share fell dramatically as the Texans never trailed, he played just 20-of-67 snaps. You probably weren’t relying on him unless you were in a very deep league, but Cade Stover played 41 snaps and the Texans played big lineups with the lead.