Houston played without WRs Nico Collins (concussion) and Christian Kirk (hamstring) in Sunday's win over the 49ers. Rookie WR Jayden Higgins took advantage, logging the most snaps of any Houston player at the position and leading the team in routes and targets. Higgins caught four of his eight chances for 34 yards and a TD, scoring from 12 yards out in the middle of the second quarter. Xavier Hutchinson followed Higgins closely in usage and led the team in receiving yards for the game. He posted a 5-69-1 receiving line on six targets, catching C.J. Stroud's other TD pass from 30 yards out.
Higgins ran a route on 34 of Stroud's 42 dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. That 81% rate is nearly double his 41% participation through seven weeks, and even well up from the 57% of Week 7, when Houston played without Kirk and lost Collins in the second half.
Hutchinson trailed by just one route, while no other Houston WR ran more than 19 routes. Higgins played nine more snaps in all, though, 82.5% of the team's total.
The rookie's previous highs had been 56% and then 63%, set the previous two games.
Hutchinson, meanwhile, actually saw a slight dip in snap share Sunday vs. Week 7 (77.6% to 71.3%) after landing in the 57-68% range throughout his first five games.
That all seems to indicate an upward-trending role for Higgins, which would make sense for the second-round pick.
Hutchinson's in his third season with the Texans. His usage has improved significantly this year vs. the previous two -- including already setting new season highs in receptions and receiving yards (among other categories) -- but we're betting on Higgins taking a bigger role than Hutchinson the rest of the way and mitigating the latter's value.
Collins didn't practice at all in Week 8, so we'll have to see about his Week 9 status. Even after he returns, there's room for Higgins to potentially claim No. 2 WR status.
Kirk has appeared in three games for Houston and decreased the share of his pass snaps spent out wide in each of the past two.
Don't be surprised if he's relegated almost exclusively to three-WR sets upon return from his hamstring injury.
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