In the early part of the season, it felt like the Houston Texans could only sustain one viable fantasy football wide receiver. Nico Collins was the alpha, but with the offense struggling, nobody else could get a foothold. Yet somehow, they found a way to have one of their best games of the season against the 49ers without Collins in Week 7. Both Xavier Hutchinson and Jaylin Noel turned in strong performances in Houston’s big win. But with Collins due to return soon, which of Hutchinson or Noel is the better fantasy play?
Analysis
As mentioned before, both Hutchinson and Noel had strong performances against San Francisco. Each receiver garnered six targets and turned that into five catches. Noel turned his five catches into 63 yards, while Hutchinson put up 69 yards and a touchdown. It was a surprise all-around performance from the Texans’ receiving core to sustain multiple fantasy-viable receivers.
But to understand this performance, we have to go deeper. That means snap counts. Without Nico Collins, things sure were interesting.
Rookie Jayden Higgins led the way with an 82% snap share. Hutchinson followed closely after that with a 71% snap share, taking most of the WR2 looks in two-receiver sets. Jared Wayne, a 2024 undrafted free agent who had no career catches until Sunday’s game, was third in snaps while recording his first two catches. Noel, despite the strong receiving line, came in fourth with a 39% snap share.
The production speaks for itself. But the snap share speaks to the trust, or lack thereof, from the coaching staff. Can Noel form enough trust to overtake Hutchinson?
The verdict
The reality is that both receivers are likely to slide back into fantasy irrelevance when Collins returns. But it’s becoming clear that Hutchinson is the guy to own when choosing between him and Noel. Whether or not that carries much fantasy value is unclear right now, but I’ll pick Hutchinson over Noel until the coaching staff begins to trust their rookie.
