ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Jayden Higgins sold the inside route convincingly enough that he placed Carolina Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson in a vulnerable position.
Once he planted his right cleat and drove at a sharp angle toward the sideline with a clean release on an out pattern after faking out Jackson and getting him leaning in the wrong direction, there was no catching up to the Texans’ rookie wide receiver.
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While it was just a standard part of the NFL route tree, the imposing second-round draft pick from Iowa State grew his own branches on it as he delivered a diving catch for a first down.
“It was really just an out route,” Higgins told KPRC 2. “I feel like I just put some of my own creativity on it. Really just trying to make a play. Just presented with something from the defense and just trying to combat that and do what I can do to get open."
The catch provided a snapshot of Higgins’ vast potential.
The 22-year-old has a rare blend of size, speed, athleticism and polish to his game. At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Higgins has NBA guard size, sprinter’s speed (4.47 40-yard dash), leaping ability with a 39-inch vertical leap and a growing repertoire of moves.
His first NFL training camp has been a successful one with strong reviews from the coaching staff and quarterback C.J. Stroud.Now , Higgins is getting ready for his first NFL regular-season game Sept. 7 against the Los Angeles Rams.
Complacency isn’t a part of his vocabulary. Higgins stays a long time after practice for extra work.
“I’m just proud of getting better each and every day, just coming in and improving on the little things,” Higgins said. “I feel like being a rookie, I can improve on everything. There’s not really one particular thing that I feel like I can get better at, but more so everything as a whole, just going out there and playing fast.”
Higgins caught 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last season as the Cyclones’ go-to receiver.
With the Texans, Higgins is slated initially for a complementary role as he works in tandem with Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins, who has similar size and mobility at 6-foot-4, 222 pounds.
There are some parallels between Higgins and Collins’ respective styles, but they are far from carbon copies except for being larger receivers.
“Some of the little things that he has in his game as far as like just his little techniques and the details he has as far as running routes and things like that,” Higgins said. " More so just the little things rather than anything big picture."
One advantage Higgins has going for him is an obvious one: his superior size.
A former basketball point guard growing up in South Florida, Higgins isn’t going to encounter any cornerbacks as tall as him. It’s been a long time since the day of Philadelphia Eagles 6-foot-4 standout corner Bobby Taylor. Generally, cornerbacks range in height from 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-1 and most don’t weigh more than 200 pounds.
Like Collins, Higgins is an inviting target for quarterback C.J. Stroud.
"I think the biggest thing for me being a tall guy is just to go out there and dominate each and every play,“ Higgins said. ”I feel like some of those big plays like C.J. throwing the ball up, I can really excel at just making the play over top of those guys. And really just being physical with my hands, like you said, some of the smaller guys have a better leverage and things like that. So, being physical my hands and my releases can definitely help me and gets me open all the time."
Back in his basketball days at Westminster Christian in Palmetto Bay, Florida, Higgins ran the show as the point guard. His style: elevate and get to the basket.
“I was a little bit of everything, honestly, but I think my last year I was more so a slasher, finisher,” Higgins said. “Get to the rim and dunk the ball, for sure.”
As much fun as it is to dunk a basketball, that doesn’t rival the euphoria of a touchdown catch. Higgins caught a red-zone touchdown against the Detroit Lions during a joint practice Thursday.
“It’s a way different feeling for me,” Higgins said. “A better feeling when you catch it over somebody. It’s just different because when you get it done, it is in the flow of the game.
“I’m hungry to get in the end zone every single day. I feel like that’s what I do, definitely get in the end zone. That’s why I did at Iowa State, that’s what I did at Eastern Kentucky, so definitely trying to get there."
Between his time at both colleges as a classic late bloomer out of high school, Higgins was a prolific receiver. He caught 227 career passes for 3,317 yards and 25 touchdown catches.
It’s unclear what his rookie production will wind up like, but Higgins obviously has the size and skill to get the job done.
“Just really contributing, whatever I can, whatever the coaches need me to do to contribute and help the team win,” he said. “That’s what I’m gonna be able to do and just wanna do that the whole season.”
Higgins’ landed a history-making $11.7 million fully guaranteed contract, the first ever for a second-round draft pick, after being a former two-star recruit. 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 and signing the first fully guaranteed deal for a second-round draft pick in NFL history, he was told no several times by the college football world.
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 last year 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, the Cyclones’ receivers coach and passing game coordinator. “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. So, I think where he ended up is a perfect spot. I think it’s going to be a great fit for him, and I’m excited to see what he does within that offense.”
Higgins was selected for the prestigious Senior Bowl all-star game, where he met with the Texans, before excelling at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis as he had a formal interview with the defending AFC South champions.
Higgins is the equivalent of the Texans’ unofficial first-round draft pick. They treated him that way contractually by guaranteeing his entire four-year deal for skill, injury and salary cap in a deal negotiated by Chris Cabott, the CEO of Equity Sports. The unprecedented contract includes a $5.149 million signing bonus.
“It feels great,” Higgins said. “All props to my agent, Chris Cabott. At the end of the day, I just wanted to come here and compete and show that I belong here. My expectations are to compete. Take it day by day, wherever that leads me, that is going to lead me, but I am always going to put my best foot forward.”
When Higgins isn’t playing football, he can be found on a lake with a fishing pole, frequently with Noel whom he shared an online fishing Tiktok channel in college called J&J Fishing, or with his family and girlfriend. He’s a focused. mature young man.
“Jayden is a very easygoing kid, very quiet, very family-oriented guy,” longtime private trainer Ed Gant said. “Give him cleats, give him a football and he’s going to bust his ass for you. He has a really tight inner circle. He’s not flashy. He’s authentic and organic.
“That comes from his upbringing with his mother and father. He has great parents. They raised him right. He’s a very simple guy who’s going to spend time with his girlfriend. He doesn’t go out hardly ever. He’s going to come to work, go home and go fishing. The Texans made a very smart decision by drafting and investing in Jayden’s future.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com .