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Week 9 fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Xavier Hutchinson, Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel in 2025. Read their waiver wire outlooks for fantasy football.
The Houston Texans are the two-time defending AFC South champs, but they've had an uneven season on offnse while adjusting to new coordinator Nick Caley. The team is 3-4 after a Week 8 victory against the 49ers, and some of their young receivers are starting to emerge as fantasy options.
In Week 8, the Texans were without veteran receivers Nico Collins (concussion) and Christian Kirk (hamstring), but QB C.J. Stroud still set a season high with 318 passing yards while spreading the ball around to several of the emerging young options on the team. Are any of the youngsters worth a look for your fantasy team going forward, especially when Collins or Kirk returns?
If you do grab a Texans' receiver on the waiver wire, should you pick up Hutchinson, Higgins, or Noel in your fantasy football leagues for Week 9 of 2025? Let's dive in.
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Xavier Hutchinson Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 1% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues
Each of the three receivers in this post went to Iowa State and was drafted by the Texans in the last few years. The "Iowa State Texans" are reportedly a tight-knit group at the position, and each one brings their own strengths to consider. Depending on what exactly you're looking for and how things play out, each of the three are worth considering.
We'll start with the elder statesman of the group in Hutchinson, who is in his third year in the NFL after the Texans drafted him in the sixth round in 2023. He didn't play much in his first two years, and is having a breakout season after a strong offseason program. The 25-year-old has already set career highs with 18 catches for 192 yards and three touchdowns this season.
In Week 8, without Collins and Kirk, Hutchinson led the team with 69 receiving yards and caught his third touchdown in his last three games.
CJ Stroud to Xavier Hutchinson! Texans lead 23-7
SFvsHOU on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/g2uapAhsqn
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
Hutchinson had two touchdowns before the team's bye week against the Ravens and has had multiple catches in six of his seven games this season. He has also been getting more playing time than the rookies, and he has actually played more snaps than any other wide receiver on the team, since Collins missed the last game. Until last week with Collins out, Hutchinson played more snaps than both Higgins and Noel in every game this season.
Of the three receivers, he probably has the lowest ceiling, but his playing time also gives him a better floor. He has shown enough in the last few weeks to stay involved even after Collins and Kirk are back, but he's still a fringe roster addition best reserved for deep leagues at this point. As the season goes on, there's a good chance the rookies could move past him on the depth chart, but for now, he seems to be the team's secondary perimeter receiver even when everyone is healthy.
Jayden Higgins Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 26% of Leagues
Baller Move: Stash in Standard Leagues if Possible
Higgins hadn't been able to pass Hutchinson on the depth chart, but was rotating in across from Collins before the Texans' Week 6 bye week. He played between 40% and 50% of snaps for the first four weeks of the season and then saw 56% of snaps in Week 5. He set a new career-high with 63% of snaps in Week 7 after the bye, and then he bettered that again in Week 8 with 83% of snaps with Collins and Kirk out.
Higgins' rise to prominence isn't shocking since the team invested more draft capital in him than the other receivers in this post. He was the second pick in the second round last year, and he drew comparisons as a "Nico Collins clone" even before he landed with the Texans in the draft.
After a very slow start to the year, he found the end zone for the first time in Week 4 against the Titans. He had four catches on four targets against the Ravens in Week 5, but then he was held catchless in Week 7 in Seattle.
Collins was hurt in that Seattle game, though, and Higgins stepped up with four catches on a team-high eight targets for 34 yards and a touchdown in Week 8 against the 49ers:
7️⃣ ➡️ 8️⃣1️⃣
📺 : @nflonfox pic.twitter.com/WXyBCDHWAk
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 26, 2025
Higgins' growing role and higher ceiling make him a good stash if you have the bench space. Collins has not been able to return to practice yet, but KPRC2's Aaron Wilson reports that he is doing well and trending towards a return. If Collins is back, Higgins will have to force his way into the action over Hutchinson, but over the rest of the season, I think he has the upside to do just that.
He's a tough add short-term if Collins is back, but long-term, he has very good upside.
Jaylin Noel Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 9% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add In PPR leagues
The final Texans' receiver in this post actually could have the most instant value, depending on the status of Christian Kirk. Noel has shown he can be very effective out of the slot, and he had more catches and more yards than Higgins in Week 8, trailing only Hutchinson with his five catches for 63 yards.
First down factory!
📺 : @nflonfox pic.twitter.com/ySfTXfaF4S
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 26, 2025
Since he didn't get into the end zone, his fantasy day wasn't quite as good as Higgins' or Hutchinson's, but he has had more sustained success than either of those two receivers. Noel had two catches for 13 yards and his first NFL touchdown against the Ravens in Week 5, and he followed that up with four catches for 77 yards after the bye against the Seahawks. His five catches for 63 yards continued the trend of him growing into a very viable threat out of the slot.
While Hutchinson and Higgins are playing mostly on the outside, Noel's work has mostly come out of the slot, so his workload will be most impacted by the availability of Christian Kirk. Kirk has missed the last two weeks after injuring his hamstring during the bye week and has not been able to return to practice. If he's out in Week 9 against the Broncos, Noel would be a high-risk, high-reward deep-league flex option based on his recent workload.
If you need a short-term fix, Noel is actually my favorite of these three options if Collins returns and Kirk is out.
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