Houston Texans select Jayden Higgins in 2nd round of 2025 NFL Draft

The Houston Texans selected Iowa State wide receiver Jayden Higgins in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. They picked him with the No. 34 overall selection of the draft.

Higgins quietly flew under the national radar at Iowa State, earning third team All-American honors in 2024. He also earned second team All-Big 12 honors from the coaches. Higgins played in 13 games, leading the entire country in receiving grade from Pro Football Focus.

All he did in the 2024-2025 season was turn in one of the greatest receiving seasons in ISU football history. He hauled in 87 catches (second all-time in school history) for 1,183 receiving yards (third all-time in school history) and nine touchdowns (tied for second in school history).

Once he hung up his cleats with the Cyclones, even though he only had two seasons there, Higgins made a substantial impact. He finished with 140 career receptions (10th all-time), 2,166 receiving yards (seventh), and 15 touchdowns (tied for sixth). During his four-year college career at Eastern Kentucky and Iowa State, Higgins tallied 227 catches for 3,317 yards and 28 touchdowns.

In 2023, Higgins played in 13 games for Iowa State, making 12 starts in his first season there. He earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors, hauling in 53 catches for 983 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Higgins averaged 18.5 yards per catch, ranking it as the seventh best single season average in school history.

He became one of just five receivers in Cyclone football history to have two career 150-yard receiving games and just the third player (Tracy Henderson, Hakeem Butler) to post two 150-yard receiving games in a single season. In the Liberty Bowl against Memphis, Higgins caught nine balls for 214 receiving yards, both career highs.

It was the second most receiving yards in a game in school history and the most ever in a bowl game. Not only that, he was the third player in the 65-year history of the Liberty Bowl to have 200-plus receiving yards in the game.

While at Eastern Kentucky, he tallied 87 catches for 1,151 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. He enjoyed a breakout sophomore year, finishing with 58 catches for 757 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Higgins averaged 13.2 yards per catch during his two seasons at the school, earning second team All-Atlantic Sun honors from Phil Steele.

As a high school recruit, Higgins put up pretty modest numbers and flew under the radar nationally. He played at Westminster Christian School (Miami, Florida) hauling in 23 catches for 430 receiving yards and five touchdowns in five games as a senior in 2020.

He earned All-County honors his junior year, hauling in 27 catches for 490 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Higgins was unranked in the On3 Industry Rankings for the 2021 cycle.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Jayden Higgins

Lance Zierlein certainly had some praise for Jayden Higgins in his official scouting report of the former ISU star in his article on NFL.com. He noted that while he has “modest athletic attributes” but “outstanding ball skills” that will make him a future NFL prospect.

“Big inside/outside wideout with modest athletic attributes but outstanding ball skills that make him a projectable NFL prospect. Higgins needs a more limited route tree but can operate on all three levels in the right scheme. He’s smooth but physical in his routes and does a nice job of creating pockets of separation with force and strength,” Zierlein wrote.

The longtime NFL Draft expert noted that Higgins has a future in three-wide sets at the next level. And while his athleticism is nothing spectacular, the former Cyclone has the traits to be able to get it done in the NFL.

“He has mismatch qualities from the slot with body control and a catch radius that make him a menace on jump balls downfield. He won’t outrun cornerbacks and is nothing special after the catch, but his size, ball skills and competitiveness create a profile of production as a future contributor in three-wide sets,” Zierlein explained.