Who Should I Start? Donovan Peoples-Jones or Xavier Hutchinson

Thursday, May 15, 1:06 PM

New Orleans Saints executive vice president/general manager Mickey Loomis announced earlier this week that the team signed free-agent wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones and safety Terrell Burgess to undisclosed one-year deals and waived safety Millard Bradford and running back Jordan Mims in corresponding moves. Both Peoples-Jones and Burgess took part in the team's rookie minicamp last weekend on a tryout basis. Peoples-Jones, 26, was a sixth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2020 out of Michigan. He was on the Detroit Lions' practice squad last year but last played in an NFL game in 2023, when he caught 13 of 25 targets for 155 yards and no touchdowns in 15 games (six starts) with the Browns and Lions. DPJ will face an uphill battle for a starting role in New Orleans as receiver depth behind Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Brandin Cooks and Bub Means in 2025.

Thursday, August 28, 7:44 PM

Houston Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson has looked like the team's No. 3 in camp behind Nico Collins and Christian Kirk, Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle observes. Alexander pegs rookie second-round pick Jayden Higgins at No. 4 and rookie third-rounder Jaylin Noel fifth in the pecking order. Hutchinson - who, like Higgins and Noel, went to Iowa State - was a sixth-round selection in 2023. The 25-year-old caught just 20 passes for 207 yards and no touchdowns over 32 games in his first two seasons. Despite that, Alexander reports that Hutchinson worked hard in the offseason to get better and has "quickly become one of C.J. Stroud's go-to targets and looks much improved from a season ago." That doesn't mean it'll translate during the regular season, but for now, it seems possible that Higgins and Noel could take a backseat to Hutchinson to begin the campaign.