Jayden Higgins will be a dominant receiver in the NFL. Joe DeLeone and Ryan Roberts break down the 2025 NFL Draft prospect from Iowa State football in their Jayden Higgins scouting report
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Iowa State's Jaden Higgins is the day two wide receiver that could explode into becoming a star. Here's why
00:10Ryan if I had to pick one receiver in this class on day two that I think goes on to be a star
00:16I'm going with Jaden Higgins from Iowa State. This dude is unbelievable now
00:21I know you're not on the same page as me. But what do you think of Higgins and his strengths?
00:25I mean, I think he's a very good overall receiver, right?
00:30Like obviously we're gonna talk about the size right around six foot four 210 plus pounds
00:34He ran and tested overly well at the combine, but I think the coolest things about him for me Joe
00:39He's really good with the ball in his head and ball in the air
00:41I think he's a good catch point guy, but he's got some surprising ability as a route runner
00:46Like that's my biggest thing about him is that for a six foot three plus guy almost six foot four
00:50You would expect him to be maybe a little bit tight
00:52Maybe not a great separator from a route running perspective
00:55But he can win both in the air and as a route runner, which I think brings some
00:59Interesting possibilities on the next level either as an X or potentially as a big slot even in the NFL as well
01:05Yeah
01:05I think that this is the prototype for an accident offense and there's been all these talking points in this draft class of like
01:11You know who who fits these specific roles and we talked so much about
01:14Tedder Oh McMillan and him being the catch point guy that he is. I think Jaden Higgins
01:19Is not as much of that jump ball dominator
01:23But for what we look for in an X receiver tall long reliable hands
01:28I'm in love with the route running for a guy this big a lot of times when you get these six foot four
01:33210 pound plus receivers. They're a little bit clunky
01:36It's hard to transition when you've got long legs and you've got long arms and all that when you're able to
01:43easily change direction the way that Higgins is
01:46That makes it easier to create separation now
01:49he's somebody who makes a lot of his catches in close quarters, but I still think that he is able to
01:55Create space for himself with the way that he uses his feet
01:59Now he is and I think that that's the the coolest part about him is you would think that someone his size is a little
02:04Bit tights maybe a little bit just a a guy that needs to separate more with his size than his short area quickness
02:10But he is a very loose athlete. He's got good hip fluidity
02:12I do think that and I think that brings up that the interesting possibility Joe of I
02:17Agree that his size profile and his ability to catch point offers an X upside on the next level
02:23but I think the team could view him as a big slot for the route running and the size that he brings to the middle of
02:28The field like I kind of want that big body work into the middle field at times
02:32Separating as a route runner in the slot
02:33Like I think that there's brings a kind of an interesting possibility as far as from an alignment versatility perspective as well
02:40Him having that versatility is going to help his case and for teams to value him higher on their boards
02:46But if we were going to discuss some of his weaknesses not a fully perfectly polished prospect
02:51I think one thing that does stand out to me. I know that he ran in the four fourths the NFL Combine, but you do see
02:58times on film where faster defensive backs are able to run step-for-step with him and I that is gonna certainly limit him when he's
03:05Going in these battles with these corners that are gonna run ridiculously fast times that are running in the four threes
03:11comparing to his four four seven
03:13well
03:13and and I think that that's why I
03:15struggled a little bit of just projecting him just as an X is why I bring up the big slot stuff because is he going to
03:21Separate all the time with foot speed on the outside and one-on-one coverage. Like that's my main question, right?
03:28Like we know he can run routes. We know he has a big catch radius. All that stuff is cool
03:32But I mean it's a very important
03:34But is he gonna be a guy that in a one-on-one outside rep against one of the better corners in the NFL?
03:40Can he separate in that one-on-one situation? I don't know the answer to that
03:43I have my reservations if he's gonna be able to be that type of a separator. So
03:48alignment perspective
03:49I'm interested to see how NFL teams just generally see him because I just don't think that he's a guy that's gonna consistently create
03:55Vertically oriented plays just by being a great athlete
03:58I do think that the testing numbers are great and it helps his draft stock in a lot of different ways
04:03But I do think that he's one of those guys were
04:06Does the 40 time does the testing numbers match the film?
04:09I didn't necessarily see a dynamite athlete when I watched him. I saw a more precise
04:15Fluid route runner with a big body
04:16So I think that we do need to come in question of like just how legitimate those testing numbers are
04:21His background super interesting because he actually didn't originally start his career at Iowa State
04:26He was an FCS kid at Eastern. Kentucky is a two-star recruit the
04:31459th ranked receiver per 247 sports the
04:36376 ranked recruit in Florida and was not even ranked nationally coming from Miami, Florida
04:41I always get excited when there's an FCS kid that made the jump and also improved on a year-by-year basis
04:47That's exactly what Higgins is
04:49All this proves to me is that if you are in FCS school your g5 school
04:55Go down in the state of Florida and try to find some of these kids that are under recruited
04:59Right like a Jane Higgins because after starting his current Eastern, Kentucky
05:03He transfers over to Iowa State Joe and he's been very good the last two years
05:07Obviously in a highly productive player along with Jalen Noel and Rocco backed in that offense and he brings again
05:14played a lot on the outside for Iowa State played a lot on the inside and
05:18Despite him being a two-star out of the state of Florida
05:20You saw that he is able to continue to kind of prove people wrong a two-star recruit going to the FCS route Eastern
05:26Kentucky now going to play in the big 12 and being one of the bit on a really good
05:30Team this past year for Iowa State go into the Senior Bowl and showcasing himself. They're going to the Combine
05:35This is another great story of a young man who was under recruited and under appreciated coming out of high school
05:42That has continued to prove a lot of doubters wrong and maybe wound up proving me wrong a little bit as a doubter
05:46I guess to a degree. Well, you're not a doubter
05:48You just don't see the star potential that I'm that I'm pitching here
05:52His is pro comp that we have is not exactly sexy. We're going with Kenny Galladay who tested well thousand-yard receiver
06:01Kenny Kenny
06:03Kenny Galladay had two very good seasons with the Lions and why he was so good is that he was your
06:10Prototypical X it was a good route runner. He had secure and consistent reliable hands and as a Giants fan
06:17This is why I am very
06:19Grossed out by this comparison when he ended up with the Giants. He wasn't able to separate
06:25He lost a gear. I it was part of it was probably impacted by injury
06:28But he just wasn't as fast and could not create separation like he used to that was where his downfall happened
06:35But I think that if you get Pete Kenny Galladay out of Jaden Higgins for more than two years
06:42You're going to get a reliable consistent threat in a receiving room
06:47If he ends up being a thousand-yard receiver multiple times in the NFL
06:51That is what we call a successful career in the top as a top 100 pick and ultimately
06:56We're not comparing him to Kenny Galladay the worst of him
06:59We're trying to say that like hey if this guy hits
07:01He could be that type of player that maybe goes over a thousand yards a couple times in his career
07:05That is the pathway that we're trying to highlight not the downfall of Kenny Galladay Joseph comment below what team you want to see?
07:12Draft Jaden Higgins hit that like button and subscribe. We'll talk to you later