Who Should I Start? Xavier Hutchinson or Luke McCaffrey

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.

Saturday, August 23, 11:41 PM

Washington Commanders wide receiver Luke McCaffrey racked up five receptions for 23 yards in a 30-3 loss against Baltimore in the team's final preseason game. McCaffrey rounded out the preseason with his most productive outing, catching multiple balls underneath and generating some yards after the catch. He was also used as a blocker on the punt return team, which speaks to his special-teams value but hardly signals trust in him as an offensive contributor. It hasn't been the most encouraging training camp for the second-year wideout, as he's yet to emerge with star receiver Terry McLaurin not practicing along with Noah Brown. He looks to be firmly behind those two, Deebo Samuel and Jaylin Lane, in the pecking order for consistent routes.