Texans Insider Praises Rookie Wide Receivers Shining at Training Camp

The Houston Texans are busy at work in 2025 NFL training camp, hoping to improve upon a 10-7 finish from last season that culminated in a Divisional Round playoff loss. That would be a much more encouraging starting point if they hadn't ended their 2023 campaign the exact same way.

In order to do so, they'll have to find a way to rejuvenate their offense around third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud. After a groundbreaking rookie year, he encountered a sophomore slump last season behind a shaky offensive line and injury hits to his weapons.

To revive his development, the Texans overhauled their O-line, brought in new offensive coordinator Nick Caley, and added some new playmakers to help take pressure off their QB, including former Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb. Their wide receiver room still has plenty of question marks, with Tank Dell out for the 2025 NFL season and Christian Kirk recovering from a season-ending collarbone injury from last year, but training camp is showing that they may have found their answers in the draft.

Rookie wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel are impressing in Houston Texans 2025 training camp

The Houston Texans clearly wanted to add some juice on offense in the 2025 NFL Draft. With their first three picks, they selected two wide receivers and tackle Aireontae Ersery out of Minnesota.

So far, it looks like they might have hit on both Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel out of Iowa State. HoustonPress's Sean Pendergast named the Cyclones duo as two standouts from the Texans' training camp so far:

"I’m including both of these guys in the same bullet point, since their stories are very similar, even if their physical stature is completely different. Higgins and Noel have been perpetually underrated players, both coming out of Iowa State. The Texans need one, or preferably both, of them to make an impact this season, with the team finishing last year with a massively depleted wide receiver room. Both have flashed noticeably in camp, a good sign that Nick Caserio may have found his next set of second- and third-round receiver gems in the draft."

After Nico Collins, Houston has plenty of opportunity for both Higgins and Noel to step up and command targets from C.J. Stroud. Even if Christian Kirk bounces back strongly, they'll need at least one of their rookie receivers to establish themselves as a legitimate WR3 in their first year to flesh out a well-rounded, multifaceted attack.