Jared Koch· Aug 17, 2026
Koch expects Jaylin Noel to eventually claim the Texans' slot receiver role and see increased targets/snaps in his second season, though his start will be slower after the hamstring injury.
“When he's back to 100%, he'll have a route to finding notable snaps as Houston's slot receiver, especially deeper into the season.”
published in writing · Sports Illustrated · read the original →
One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.
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Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room.
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Jaylin Noel · 2026 season4 calls from 4 pundits between 1 and 3. Jared Koch said 1. the room's median is 2. not settled yet
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- Depth Chart CallsJaylin NoelHouston TexansAug 17, 2026
Jaylin Noel to be 1st on the depth chart
“When he's back to 100%, he'll have a route to finding notable snaps as Houston's slot receiver, especially deeper into the season.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Colin CowherdGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Cowherd repeats his claim that Caleb Williams will be viewed as a top four or five quarterback by the end of the season, restates his preseason pick of the Ravens to win their division, and expects a angry Houston defense to beat Cincinnati on Sunday.
- Chris BroussardGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Brew stood by the Lions as division winners and playoff team, picked the Texans over Cincinnati, the Bears over Minnesota, the Patriots to beat Pittsburgh with a solid Drake Maye game, flagged Jacksonville over Denver as his upset alert, and said he still feels good about the Ravens winning the AFC.
- Greg JenningsGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Jennings put the Cardinals up as his upset alert over Seattle, backed the Texans over Cincinnati and the Bears over Minnesota with chips, put two chips on Denver beating Jacksonville, and wrote a headline of the Packers beating the Jets; he also called the Bengals a playoff team and the Chiefs winners over Indianapolis.
- Nick WrightGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Wright stuck by his preseason call of a 12-5 Bills team that wins its division, picked the Jaguars to beat Denver outright, leaned Texans over Cincinnati, still has Atlanta as his deep sleeper, counts New England among his 14 playoff teams, and recalled pegging Washington for a 5-12 or 6-11 year with a bottom-six defense.
- John GranatoGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Despite the Texans' injuries at wide receiver, he picked Houston to beat Cincinnati in their upcoming game.
- Lance ZierleinGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Zierlein expected Nico Collins to sit out with his injury, and said that despite the tough matchup he had already submitted the Texans as his pick over Cincinnati.
More depth chart calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Matt SeveranceDepth Chart Calls · Deshaun WatsonHit · 100The CBS Sports preview backs Tampa Bay to beat Cleveland in the Bucs' Week 2 home opener, and states that Deshaun Watson — not Shedeur Sanders — will be Cleveland's starting quarterback in Week 2.
- Rafael ZamoranoDepth Chart Calls · Deshaun WatsonHit · 100Zamorano reports Watson will start Week 2 at Tampa Bay and suggests there's little reason to expect improvement, raising the possibility Watson's five-year contract never yields more than single-digit wins.
- Rich HribarDepth Chart Calls · Tua TagovailoaMiss · 0Hribar expects Tua Tagovailoa to be Atlanta's starting quarterback for Week 2 while Michael Penix stays out, with Penix's return closer to Week 4. He is unenthusiastic about the Falcons' offense either way and treats Bryce Young as a fringe fantasy starter.
- Bradley LockerDepth Chart Calls · Carson WentzHit · 100PFF's unsigned adjusted power rankings after Week 1 of the 2026 season place the Bills first, the Rams second and the Dolphins last, with notes on quarterback situations in Seattle, Minnesota and Cleveland.
- Tyler SullivanDepth Chart Calls · Michael Penix Jr.Miss · 0In a Week 1 recap with no named byline, CBS Sports suggested Michael Penix Jr. would take over as Atlanta's Week 2 starter if healthy, called Ashton Jeanty's sophomore breakout imminent, and warned readers not to overlook San Francisco as NFC West winners.
- Pat FitzmauriceDepth Chart Calls · Rashod BatemanMiss · 0In his Week 2 waiver wire column, Fitzmaurice recommends a slate of pickups he expects to outperform their current rostership (Kaelon Black, Deebo Samuel, Tyler Shough, Geno Smith and others), lays out several depth-chart expectations (Black as the 49ers' No. 2 back, Shedeur Sanders eventually taking over in Cleveland, Penix returning for Atlanta), and flags Fool's Gold/drop candidates such as Mike Gesicki, Kendrick Bourne and Rashid Shaheed.