Houston Texans WR Noah Brown has only played five games in the 2023 season, and it has been a tale of two types of finishes for him. He had three weeks where he was the WR56 or worse, but then came Week 9. In Week 9, Brown was the WR2, and in Week 10, he was the WR7. Over that two-week time period, he had 325 receiving yards and one TD.
It has been helpful that C.J. Stroud is the one slinging the ball for Houston. Stroud is currently the QB6 on the season and on pace to break every rookie QB passing record. He has 3,266 passing yards and 19 TDs heading into Week 13. After missing the last couple of weeks with a knee injury, will Brown play this week, and if so, what is his fantasy football outlook?
Is Noah Brown Going To Play in Week 13?
Brown has missed two straight games for Houston, and things were looking up for him when he practiced in a limited fashion on Wednesday and Thursday. However, he was downgraded to a DNP on Friday, which did not seem to bode well for his availability on Sunday. Brown is dealing with a knee issue and is officially listed as questionable.
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On Sunday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Brown is set to play in Week 13. He is the WR39 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings. Fantasy managers may want to be hesitant with Brown this week. We have no idea how much he might play this week and could end up on a limited snap count as the team eases him back into action.
Brown has tended to be a big-play-dependent fantasy option this season, so if he is less than 100%, that could hurt him on that front. Generally, he has not been a high-volume option, often being the third or fourth most targeted player on the offense. Hoping he can volume his way into fantasy relevance without being able to make explosive plays could be a dangerous assumption this week.
Potential Fantasy Options if Brown Is Out Include Tank Dell, Nico Collins, and Robert Woods
The Texans play early on Sunday, so fantasy managers will know if they have to make a pivot before any game kicks off. The big beneficiaries of Brown being sidelined would be Tank Dell and Nico Collins. Dell is also questionable for Sunday, so managers must closely monitor the inactive list.
Dell did tell the media on Saturday, “I’m good now,” so I expect him to start and get more targets with Brown presumably out. TE Dalton Schultz has also been ruled out, so the Texans need Dell and Collins to be available. If either of them is on your bench or happen to be available, they are players well worth adding and potentially starting ahead of Week 13.
If both of those are unavailable in your league, then Robert Woods could be a longshot option to replace Brown. Woods has been unconvincing this season, but with Schultz out, he could see more of an intermediate-level role in the offense. At this stage of his career, Woods is likely more of a PPR option, but even then, he is tough to trust with any certainty.
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