HOUSTON – Jayden Higgins cut sharply into the open field, creating immediate separation behind Tennessee Titans safety Amani Hooker.
It was an instant mismatch and an inviting downfield target for Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud on a fade pattern out of the slot. Few NFL wide receivers are as big, fast and tall as Higgins, an imposing figure at 6-foot-4 214 pounds with a huge catch radius.
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One year into his NFL career, the former Iowa State All-American and All-Big 12 selection is displaying signs that he could be poised for a breakout second NFL season.
Heading into the Texans’ full-team minicamp this week, Higgins has been a standout among the receivers and has lined up at multiple spots and shown upgraded timing and chemistry with Stroud. Higgins is noticeably more muscular and explosive, too.
“Higgins has done an outstanding job,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “You see a physical difference. You see a stronger, more chiseled-out receiver. We step on the field, he’s playing faster. He’s playing stronger. He’s making all of the tough catches. He’s playing extremely fast.
“He’s taken advantage of his offseason, and he’s really improved in a ton of areas. The first area for him is how can we play fast consistently and he’s doing that right now. He’s going to have a great year. Can’t wait to see it.”
Higgins, a former basketball player growing up in Miami before converting to football on a full-time basis, had a solid rookie season. He caught 41 passes for 525 yards and six touchdowns on 68 targets as he averaged 12.8 yards per reception.
He overcame a slow start as he adjusted to the NFL. As the season went on, Higgins was counted on more to complement Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins. In two playoff games, he combined for nine catches for 98 yards and five first downs on 14 targets.
The improvements Higgins has made are fairly obvious. He has been working overtime this offseason.
“First and foremost, working on my strength, working on my speed, my lateral movements, quickness, route running. This offseason I worked a lot on my intellectual phase, just making sure I’m understanding the concepts we’re running, making sure I’m understanding when the timing needs to be, where I need to be in a certain time. Doing those two things has really helped me a lot.
“Thinking back to last year, just the confidence that I built up has been crazy. Having the same offense, having the same guys around, it just allows me to go out there, play fast. I understand what I’m doing. Really, I can just go out there and make the plays when they come to me. Coming into Year 2, I feel a lot more confident and just ready to go out there and ball.”
Signed to an $11.7 million contract, the first fully guaranteed deal for a second-round draft pick in NFL history, Higgins is a classic late bloomer.
A former two-star recruit at Westminster Christian High School, Higgins went overlooked at nearly every stage of the talent evaluation process until the most important one: the NFL draft.
Before Higgins emerged, though, as the Texans’ top draft pick as the 34th overall selection, he was told no several times by the college football world. Higgins ultimately signed with Eastern Kentucky, where he excelled so much he outgrew the Football Championship Subdivision school and entered the NCAA transfer portal before becoming a third-team All-American and second-team All-Big 12 selection at Iowa State.
One thing the Texans really like about Higgins is his versatility. The plan is to deploy him at multiple spots.
“For me, the sky’s the limit,” Higgins said. “However they want to incorporate me in the offense, putting me at different positions, whether that’s X, Z, F, no matter what, in the slot, outside, whenever I can go out there and make a play.
“No necessarily goals for myself personally, but I think we all know that the goal for the team is to put a bull on the ring. I’m going to contribute however I can.”
For the Cyclones, Higgins developed into one of the most dangerous receivers in college football.
Before Higgins grew into his frame and became an elite receiver, he had to commit to football as his main sport. He was a basketball player primarily since elementary school until transferring to Westminster Christian after his sophomore year at Gulliver Prep’s Upper School and becoming a full-time football player.
Higgins had played basketball since the third grade and was known as a natural shooter who elevated over defenders around the rim.
“Basketball was definitely huge for me,” Higgins said. “Just being able to move in tight spaces, knowing how to set people up, knowing how to use your leverage to win and really just being mobile, being elusive and shifty.”
Before Higgins signed with Eastern Kentucky, he was ranked as the 459th wide receiver in the nation and the 367th best player overall in the state of Florida.
Being underrated, being an afterthought, has provided a lot of motivational fuel for Higgins.
“For me, at the end of the day, it’s always been a look at yourself in the mirror type of thing,” Higgins said. “I’m just trying to be the best version of myself. I’m going to pick certain people’s brain and see what they do well and try to take it. I’m trying to be the best version of myself and show that when you’re out there on the field.”
It became evident that Higgins needed a greater challenge athletically than what he was getting at Eastern Kentucky at a lower level of college football. After catching 58 passes for 757 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore, Higgins decided it was time to enter the portal.
Higgins made an immediate impact for the Cyclones with 53 catches for 983 yards and six touchdowns in his first season in the Big 12 as an honorable-mention all-conference selection. He took it up a notch in his final college football season as he caught 87 passes for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns.
“He’s one of the best I’ve been around, and that’s where you gotta have a little bit of confidence,” said Noah Pauley, Penn State receivers coach who coached Higgins and teammate Jaylin Noel at Iowa State on Matt Campbell’s staff. “I just knew he was going to be a high-end pick and whatever team that got him was going be extremely pleased because of obviously what he brings on the football field, but just how he carries himself off the field and how he prepares himself and how he just he always plays and does everything with a chip on his shoulder.
“Jayden has this mindset where whether he’s playing the slot or playing outside that he’s gonna find a way to get open and go make the play and he consistently did that for us. Wanting to play at the highest level like he just keeps pushing himself and trying to prove others wrong.”
Higgins has the speed to get open with a 4.47 time in the 40-yard dash and a 1.53 10-yard split. He has serious hops with a 39-inch vertical leap and a 10-8 broad jump.
He’s much larger than the defensive backs tasked with covering him.
There are some parallels between Higgins and Collins as bigger receivers who use their size to their advantage to jump over and box out smaller defensive backs.
“It’s definitely a big element of my game,” Higgins said. “It’s what makes me so versatile. My size allows me to be able to be a big receiver on the outside, but what makes it different is I’m versatile. I can run any route in the route tree and I can make plays from anywhere on the field. So, it’s definitely something that I’m continuing to use and uses my strength.
“Nico being a big receiver, I definitely like to watch his film. Really what I see from his game is just how explosive he is. He’s also very physical and fast, really just a great vertical threat. Definitely try to pick his mind and see how I can implement some of those things that he has in my game as well.”
There aren’t a lot of defensive backs who can match Higgins’ rare combination of size, speed and route running. Just ask the Titans.
“I think being a big receiver, being able to go in there and line up inside and go against linebackers or nickels and just make plays in there is definitely a benefit to us,” Higgins said. “I think it will show up in all aspects, route running, just being stronger, being able to break tackles, just being quicker and then just being smarter.
“A lot of times we’re playing against zones and things like that, so knowing where to sit, knowing whether to take a high angle or a low angle, that stuff is really important. I think it will help out a lot.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com