Evaluating who to play in fantasy football this week between Houston Texans’ WR Jayden Higgins and Buffalo Bills WR Keon Coleman.
The first game of week 12 in the NFL features a Thursday night bout between the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills. Both teams are coming off wins, and regarding fantasy football, both teams have some borderline start and sit players. Two of these players include WRs Keon Coleman and Jayden Higgins. Here is a breakdown on who to start and sit between the two players this week in fantasy football
Oct 26, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Buffalo Bills wide reciever Keon Coleman (0) runs on to the field before the game at Bank of America Stadium. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
The air around the name of Keon Coleman in fantasy football got even less clear last week. After being a full-go leading up to the Bills’ contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he was a late scratch. He was held out for disciplinary reasons after being late to a team practice on Friday. Koleman, in the week prior, had one of his better games against the Miami Dolphins, logging three receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown. He will look to build off that and erase what happened last week, when he takes on the Houston Texans on Thursday night.
The Texans are a passing defense to be feared. This year, they are allowing the third fewest passing yards per game. They have a good secondary and a couple of elite pass rushers. These factors combined make it difficult for opposing teams to throw the ball against them. In their last three games, the most receiving yards they have allowed to an opposing WR was 41 yards. Opposing WR2s on average against them over that stretch have averaged 23.3 receiving yards per game. This is certainly not encouraging for Coleman, who comes into the matchup with six out of the nine games he has played this season with 30 or fewer receiving yards.
Oct 26, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins (81) reacts after catching a pass for a touchdown during the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at NRG Stadium. / Sean Thomas-Imagn Images
Rookie WR for the Texans, Jayden Higgins, who looked like a bit of an afterthought for the 2025 fantasy football season, has begun to show potential. Last week against the Tennessee Titans, he had four receptions on five targets for 55 yards. This directly follows a week 10 game where he had five receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown, also on seven targets. Before this, in the other eight games Higgins played, he had only one game with seven targets or more–he averaged 2.8 targets per game over that stretch.
Higgins will take on the Bills this week. This year, like the Texans, they also have one of the best pass defenses in the league. They are allowing the second-fewest passing yards per game this season. In their last three games, they have allowed notable fantasy performances to WRs. In two of these three games, a WR has had over 84 receiving yards, and each player scored a touchdown. However, both of these WRs were WR1 on their team, and Higgins plays the role of WR2. WR2s over this three-game stretch against the Bills have combined for five receptions, 49 receiving yards, and no TDs.
When it comes to who should start and who should sit between Higgins and Coleman this week in fantasy football, Higgins should sit, and Coleman should start. This one was tough, but Coleman has shown he can have big games and not be TD dependent to have a fantasy impact–in week one, he had eight receptions for 112 yards and a TD. Higgins’ recent volume has been encouraging, but it still is not enough to move him into a starting spot in fantasy, especially against Buffalo.
