Who Should I Start? Rashod Bateman or Jaylin Noel


Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.
Rush.
Yds.
Rush
TD
Rec. Rec.
Yds.
Rec
TD
6.2 0.0 0.0 1.9 28.8 0.2

Rashod Bateman News

Ravens Unclear When NFL Will End Its Investigation of Rashod Bateman

Wednesday, September 2, 1:37 PM

Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said on Wednesday that he does not know when the NFL will finalize its investigation into wide receiver Rashod Bateman, who was arrested on family-violence charges in June, according to ESPN's Jamison Hensley. Bateman's fantasy football value was already down going into the 2026 season, and a potential suspension to begin the year makes him undraftable in 12-team single-year leagues. The 26-year-old is the WR2 on Baltimore's depth chart behind Zay Flowers, but even without a potential suspension, the possibility of impressive rookie Ja'Kobi Lane passing him on the depth chart sooner rather than later seems high. The former 27th overall pick in 2021 from Minnesota broke out for 756 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, both career highs, but he regressed to a 19-224-2 line in 13 games in 2025 with quarterback Lamar Jackson dealing with injuries mostly all year. Outside of what looks like his 2024 outlier, Bateman has not had more than 46 catches, 515 yards, or two touchdowns in his other four NFL seasons.


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.


Rashod Bateman vs. Jaylin Noel

Still trying to decide between Bateman and Noel? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Rashod Bateman is projected to score 6.2 points this week while Jaylin Noel is projected to score 4.3 points.