WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. – Jaylin Noel has a style all his own defined by rapid-fire acceleration, tapping his cleats into his breaks and understanding spacing and timing as he creates separation.
As the Texans’ rookie wide receiver learns on the job at training camp and prepares for his first NFL game Saturday night against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium, he’s absorbing knowledge from the past.
Recommended Videos
Specifically, by studying tape of vintage New England Patriots retired slot wide receivers Julian Edelman, Wes Welker and Danny Amendola. The parallels of the Texans’ offense under offensive coordinator Nick Caley to his New England roots with Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels and Tom Brady and the ultra-productive receivers who benefited from that scheme is all instructive to Noel, a third-round draft pick from Iowa State.
It’s an advanced study that Noel is enjoying and benefiting from as he acclimates to the NFL after excelling for the Cyclones with 245 career catches for 2,855 yards and 18 touchdowns and being named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year.
How the vintage Super Bowl champion Patriots used two slot receivers at times in their game plan specific offense tailored to strategy changing constantly against opposing defenses could come in handy for a Texans offense that has veteran Christian Kirk in the slot along with Noel.
“I watched him when he was paired up with Edelman a lot, they did a great job,” Noel told KPRC 2 of the Brady passing connection. “There’s a lot of similarities within this offense and making sure you have to make the right decision at the slot position and being on the right time with the quarterback. So, watching their film and seeing how they operate it has helped a lot, come out here and make sure I can play it back.”
Edelman, now a popular podcaster with Rob Gronkowski, was a converted quarterback who won three Super Bowls and caught 620 passes for 6,822 yards and 36 touchdowns.
Welker, now working for the Washington Commanders in personnel, was a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection who caught 903 career passes for 9,924 yards and 50 touchdowns.
Amendola, a Texas Tech graduate from The Woodlands, earned two Super Bowl rings and caught 617 career passes for 6,212 yards and 24 scores.
There have been a few comparisons for Noel because of the position he plays and the type of offense Caley is installing. Of course, those guys didn’t run the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds like Noel.
Wo watch a lot of Edelman, Amendola, Wes Welker, see how they operate in the game and they’re great," Noel said. “To even be compared to them sometimes, that is an honor. Like you said, our games are different, but there’s a lot things that I can take away from them and what they accomplished in the games. How they went out each Sunday and made plays, it was impressive and to watch it on film, it helps me a lot.”
In his first NFL camp, Noel has had plenty of moments as an impressive pass-catcher on short, intermediate and deeper routes. He’s adept at every phase of the route tree. Last season, working in tandem with Texans rookie wide receiver Jayden Higgins, one of his best friends, Noel caught a career-high 80 passes for 1,194 yards and eight touchdowns.
The compact 5-foot-10, 201-pound Kansas City native is working hard on his game and making steady improvements.
“I’m just continuing to work on my route detail,” Noel said. “There’s always something there that you can work on, making sure you have clean feet at the top of each break point. And then within the blocking game, making sure I’m on my leverages and I’m being physical in the right game."
The first thing Noel wants to do is to establish himself on special teams in the return game. The offensive role, he feels like that’s going to develop in time.
“To be a big factor in special teams, to be a good returner for this team, I feel like I can do that really well,” Noel said. “And then at the receiver position to be able to get on the field and make timely plays and important plays for the offense. And when it’s my moment to be called, I’ll be ready.”
Noel was one of the fastest and highest-jumping wide receivers at the combine with a 41 1/2 inch vertical leap. The Texans signed him to a four-year, $6.466 million contract that includes a $1.34 million signing bonus.
From an intangible standpoint, Noel still resonates strongly in the Cyclones’ highly successful football program.
“He is the best leader and the most competitive kid I’ve been around since I’ve been coaching, and you’re going to get a kid that’s going to do everything in his power to help the team win,” Iowa State receivers coach and passing game coordinator Noah Pauley said in a telephone interview. “He’s an unbelievable person. He’s got to be a leader of that rookie class some way. He’ll find his role and he’ll be a sponge to the vets and everyone around that building will love having him around and what he brings to the organization.”
“Just an unbelievable human being, high-character kid. He didn’t always have the easiest upbringing, and a lot of people could go the other way, but he put his head down and knew that he was going to make the most of his opportunities and his athletic abilities to make sure that he took care of his mom, his family, his grandma and sister and brothers.”
Teaming up again with Higgins is special for Noel. So is their friendship, which includes a shared love for fishing. They went to Galveston this summer where Noel caught a couple of black drum fish, but not as many fish as Higgins, a Miami, Fla., native accustomed to the salt waters.
On the field, they’re both having strong training camps and growing together.
“It’s really a blessing to be able to still be teammates with him as we grew throughout college together and just now being able to learn and grow through the process of going to the NFL and figuring things out,” Noel said. “To be able go through that process with him especially.
Being in West Virginia at The Greenbrier this week, Noel enjoyed himself in the cooler climate as well as a fun dinner with the wide receivers at the Jerry West-themed steakhouse.
“I like it a lot, the weather’s nice, scenery’s beautiful, and it’s cool to build camaraderie with the teammates,” Noel said. Not much to do out here, so spending time with them and getting to know the guys. Going to Prime 44 with all the wideouts, it was a great meal, they had great steak there."
Now, Noel prepares for his first NFL game. He’s determined to show what he can provide.
“Just my versatility, whether that’s at return or in the offense,” Noel said. “Being able to align anywhere on the field and make big plays. ”It’ll always be fun to be able to line up across from another team, go out and compete, and make plays."
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com