Texans Daily

Analyst Reveals Striking Concern for Texans' Hyped Draft Pick

This exciting Houston Texans draft pick has something that he needs to improve upon heading into his first NFL season.

Matthew Schmidt

Oct 8, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; General view of a Houston Texans helmet before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Oct 8, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; General view of a Houston Texans helmet before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
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The Houston Texans landed a pair of Iowa State wide receivers in the NFL Draft, nabbing Jayden Higgins in the second round and snatching Jaylin Noel in Round 3.

While both selections were widely praised for a Texans team that entered the draft in significant need of help at the position, Jacob Barzilla of Medium has identified a major concern for one of them.

Barzilla gave Houston an A-minus grade for the selection of Noel, a speedy weapon who hauled in 80 receptions for 1,194 yards and eight touchdowns during his final collegiate campaign.

However, he does have some trepidation about Noel for one key reason: drops.

"One of the negatives for Noel is his struggles with drops at times," Barzilla wrote. "Noel had a 7.2% drop rate over his college career which is something that can be fixed but isn’t ideal and probably a big reason for him getting to pick 79 to begin with."

Noel spent four seasons at Iowa State and began making an impact in Year 2 when he caught 60 passes for 572 yards and three scores. He developed into more of a big-play threat during his junior campaign before averaging a solid 14.9 yards per grab in 2024.

That being said, the 22-year-old profiles as a slot receiver, which makes his issue with drops all the more worrisome, as he will be expected to handle the short and intermediate throws from C.J. Stroud.

Hopefully, that is something Noel can hone on the professional level, especially with Tank Dell's future in serious question.

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.

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