Who Should I Start? Cooper Kupp or Jaylin Noel


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
5.9 0.0 0.0 2.1 27.3 0.2

Cooper Kupp News

Cooper Kupp No Longer Offers Reliable Weekly Volume

Monday, August 10, 10:49 AM

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp was still on the field plenty last season, but the opportunities weren't there often enough for fantasy managers. He played more than 72% of Seattle's offensive snaps across 16 games and finished with 47 catches for 593 yards and two touchdowns on 70 targets. Jaxon Smith-Njigba had taken over the passing game by then, piling up 119 catches and an NFL-high 1,793 yards. Kupp remains a starter on Seattle's current depth chart and has shown he can still make plays in camp, including a pair of touchdowns during recent red-zone work. The 33-year-old isn't disappearing from the offense. The issue is whether that role produces enough targets to trust him every week. Last season suggests it probably won't. RotoBaller has Kupp at WR76 in its August 10 half-PPR rankings. He can still give fantasy managers a useful week here and there, but at this point he makes more sense as bench depth than someone to draft expecting a regular starting role.


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
4.3 1.5 0.0 1.6 19.0 0.1

Jaylin Noel News

Texans Plan to Ramp Jaylin Noel Back Up

Wednesday, August 19, 3:33 PM

The Houston Texans got wide receiver Jaylin Noel (hamstring, finger) back from his injuries this week in training camp, and they plan to ramp him up to get him back to where he was in the spring when he caught several touchdowns, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Sports. Noel's fantasy football stock rose dramatically on Wednesday after it was announced that fellow wideout Jayden Higgins (knee) suffered a season-ending torn ACL. The 23-year-old recently returned to practice after missing several weeks with a hamstring and pinkie injury, and now that he's back, the former third-rounder from Iowa State has a clear path to WR2 duties in Houston in his second year in the NFL now that Higgins is done for the season. In 17 regular-season games as a rookie in 2025, Noel caught 26 of his 35 targets for 292 yards and two touchdowns for the Texans. At the very least, Noel should see a big rise in target share as the Texans continue to work Tank Dell back from a knee injury that kept him out for all of last year. RotoBaller now has Noel ranked as the No. 65 overall fantasy WR.


Cooper Kupp vs. Jaylin Noel

Still trying to decide between Kupp and Noel? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Cooper Kupp is projected to score 5.9 points this week while Jaylin Noel is projected to score 4.3 points.