Xavier Hutchinson

WR·

Houston Texans·#19·6'3"·210 lb·3rd year·Iowa State

Tier 1Round 6, pick 205 in 2023

Updated November 4, 2026

69.1

Model Score

Down from 70.1 last year

Trade value ·a 7th

Player comps Be the Texans GM →

Xavier Hutchinson has 21 catches, 258 receiving yards and 1 touchdown in 7 games for the Houston Texans this season through Week 8, 7.8 PPR points a game (updated November 4, 2026).

Model Score by season

Down 1.0 from last season.

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

STM Take

A depth receiver still waiting for a real role.

The case for

1,171 senior receiving yards at Iowa State is real college production. Year-over-year STTM improvement (#134 to #73) is real, if incremental.
Wk 18 2025's 13.4 PPR shows the spike-week ceiling when injuries open the room. 6'2"/203 frame provides a defined boundary skill set.

The worry

Three straight tier 8 finishes confirms the developmental ceiling. Career receiving yards across three NFL seasons total under 500.
Two zero-PPR games in the 2025 sample (Wks 14, 16) plus three sub-3 PPR weeks. Behind Collins and the 2025 draft additions (Higgins), his target ceiling is permanently in WR4 territory.

What to watch: Whether Houston retains him through 2026 final cuts behind Collins, Higgins, and the likely Tank Dell return.

Full take and bio

Three tier 8 finishes across three NFL seasons (#134, #125, #73) shows the typical 6th-round development arc: incremental improvement without breaking through. Wk 18 2025's 13.4 PPR is the lone spike of his season, and the surrounding weeks (4.1, 4.9, 2.6, 1.4) show how thin the role still is. He is a defined depth piece, not a player establishing a real WR2/3 role.

Hutchinson came out of Iowa State as Houston's 6th-round pick (205th overall) in 2023 after a 1,171-yard senior season with the Cyclones. At 6'2" and 203 pounds, he is the older brother of NFL pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson. He spent his rookie 2023 on the depth chart (tier 8 #134) and 2024 in a similar role (tier 8 #125). The 2025 season produced his first meaningful uptick to tier 8 #73 as the Texans cycled through Tank Dell's absence and other WR room turnover around Nico Collins.

Comps

The players whose size, testing and production looked most like his at the same point in their careers. The percent is how close.

Kenny Golladay ’2188%

Kenny Britt ’1284%James Jones ’1082%

Terrance Williams ’1778%

Brandon LaFell ’1377%

Plays like: Brandon LaFell, Joey Galloway, Donte Moncrief. Built like: Grant DuBose, James Jones, Rishard Matthews. Coming out: Jakobi Meyers, Keenan Allen, Chad Hansen.

Of his 20 closest coming out: 1 star, 6 starters, 12 backups, 1 didn't stick.