With Stefon Diggs now out for the season with a torn ACL and Nico Collins on injured reserve for at least one more week, the Texans’ wide receiver room is rather depleted. Aside from Tank Dell, someone else will need to step up in Week 9’s matchup against the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football.
Could Xavier Hutchinson fill the shoes of the sidelined superstars?
Who is Xavier Hutchinson?
A sixth-round pick out of Iowa State in the 2023 NFL Draft, Hutchinson has spent most of his career buried on the Texans’ depth chart. However, he played 71% of snaps in Week 5 after Collins went down with a hamstring injury. Since then, Hutchinson has logged snap counts of 50%, 64%, and 62%.
Hutchinson was a popular waiver add in Week 6, but the increased snap share hasn’t translated to fantasy production yet. He’s yet to catch more than three balls in a game or eclipse 31 receiving yards this season.
Week 9 outlook
There is a caveat, though. Even once Collins went down, Hutchinson was still the Texans’ third WR behind Dell and Diggs. With the latter now on IR, Hutchinson could become WR2 in Houston until Collins returns. It’s possible quarterback C.J. Stroud will look to throw Hutchinson’s way more often this week without his usual two top targets.
The matchup against the Jets isn’t a great one, admittedly. New York allows the second-fewest passing yards per contest at just 161.1, but are susceptible to the run and rank 17th in rushing yards allowed. It’s likely the Texans rely heavily on their ground game with Joe Mixon in the midst of a career renaissance of sorts.
Start or sit Hutchinson?
There’s some risk involved with starting Hutchinson since he hasn’t produced, even despite a solid snap count the past few weeks. Especially against a great pass defense, he’s someone who should probably be avoided in fantasy lineups.
On the flip side, Stroud is among the most talented QBs in the NFL and the Jets are on a lengthy losing streak. With Diggs sidelined, there are more targets to go around in Houston, too. There’s a chance Hutchinson could put up a nice stat line this week, however small that chance may be.
With that said, he should probably be a sit for Week 9 in fantasy, barring a desperation play.
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