The Houston Texans' usage of their rookie wide receiver duo, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, has seen its ups and downs through the first half of this NFL season.
Last week vs. the Tennessee Titans, it wound up being Noel that was stuck with the short end of the stick in the Texans' receiver room, having just one catch for 12 yards, and made for his second game in the past five weeks where he had less than two targets on the day.
It's made for a disappointing turnout for a rookie wideout that has had his fair share of flashes throughout the season when given his opportunities, but hasn't yet carved out a consistent weekly role within the Texans offense.
However, when Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans was asked about his usage of Noel heading into their matchup vs. the Buffalo Bills, he made sure to emphasize that he wants to get his rookie playmaker more involved; last week vs. the Titans just didn't have the flow of the game to play in his favor.
"Yeah, man, look, I want Jaylin Noel in there more, getting more opportunities," Ryans said. "Sometimes how the game goes, whether it's run plays, we have different personnel groupings for different plays that we're running. So it just also depends on the flow of the game,"
"And, of course, everybody wants them in more. We want this guy in more; we understand that. Like, we're trying to get guys many guys opportunities as we can, and that's a good problem to have. We have a lot of good guys in their receiver room that can go and make plays for us, and that have shown that they can make plays for us at any given moment of the game."
Nov 16, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans cornerback Roger McCreary (21) tackles Houston Texans wide receiver
Nov 16, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans cornerback Roger McCreary (21) tackles Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel (14) during the second quarter at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Through his rookie season thus far, Noel has 19 total catches for 209 yards and a touchdown in 10 games. He's found his way into having the fifth-highest receiving yards of the year on the Texans' offense.
Noel has been a nice compliment in the slot as a speedy playmaker in the offense that can rattle off some nice explosive plays. Yet, since Christian Kirk has returned to the lineup healthy from his hamstring injury, those chances to find explosive plays have been spotty.
This week against Buffalo, Noel could have a bit more of the focus in Nick Caley's game plan. The last time the Texans' rookie slot wideout went quiet for less than two catches, he followed that up with a four-catch day for 35 yards, helping contribute to a win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It remains to be seen whether he can get that same spark against the Bills, but Ryans and the Texans at least might have a bit more of an eye to make that happen.
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