Jared Wayne Fantasy Stats

Houston Texans wide receiver Jared Wayne stepped into an expanded role for his team with the key starters at skill positions not playing on Thursday night in their preseason contest against the Chargers. Wayne led the team in targets with five and tied for the lead in catches with three. He snagged a touchdown pass from Davis Mills and finished with 17 receiving yards. Wayne has been on the fringes of Houston's roster since he first joined them as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He made his debut with two catches for 20 yards when injuries tested the team's receiver depth against the 49ers last year, and he will likely be a depth option on the roster again this year. If injuries deplete the receiver room, he could be a deep-league sleeper to watch. His touchdown came on a contested catch in the front corner of the end zone and gave the Texans the lead at that point of the first quarter.

After releasing wide receiver Diontae Johnson on Tuesday, the Houston Texans promoted wide receiver Jared Wayne from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster on Wednesday ahead of their Divisional Round game this Saturday on the road in Kansas City against the two-time defending Super Bowl-champion Chiefs. Wayne has only been active for the Texans three times during the 2024 season and hasn't seen a single target in the passing game while playing on only 40 offensive snaps. He has had a bigger role on special teams when active, which is likely to be the case again this weekend, which means fantasy managers setting DFS lineups should look to avoid Wayne as a deep sleeper. With Johnson out of the picture now, Xavier Hutchinson and veteran Robert Woods (hip) could see more playing time behind Nico Collins and John Metchie III.