Texans Veteran Calls on Rookie WRs to Step Up

The Houston Texans wide receiver room could wind up looking a bit depeleted for Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Not only is Christian Kirk still dealing with his lingering hamstring injury to keep him out of their prior showing vs. the Seattle Seahawks, but star wideout Nico Collins is likely to be out at least one game due to the concussion he suffered on Monday as well.

For Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, that's not the greatest news to be hit with before a critical game to avoid a 2-5 record on the season. However, this Houston roster still has an intriguing bundle of wide receiver talent that should see a boost in opportunity due to the absence of perhaps two of their top targets in the offense.

The biggest names to watch could be Houston's pair of rookie wide receivers: Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, a pair of day two picks at receiver from Iowa State this summer that, to this point, haven't seen an abundant share of targets offensively, but might just have the perfect opening against the 49ers.

Dalton Schultz Calls on Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel to Be Ready

Dalton Schultz, the Texans' veteran tight end, also sees that opportunuity for a potential spark to be had within Houston's rookie wideouts this week, and remained confident they'd be up for the challenge when asked heading into this weekend.

"They’re workers," Schultz said of Higgins and Noel, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. "Biggest thing is make sure you’re ready whenever it’s your time. If that means more snaps, that means more balls, then so be it. I know their process and I know they’ve been going about it the right way. So, yeah, they gotta step up."