Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - In the days leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, WGR will provide profiles on some players that could be a good fit for the Buffalo Bills at positions of need.
As we continue to focus on wide receiver this week, this profile will feature Jayden Higgins, who was one half of an explosive wide receiving tandem at Iowa State University last season. He and Jaylin Noel, who is also expected to be drafted, both topped 1,000 yards for the season.
The South Miami, Fla. native began his college career at Eastern Kentucky, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program.
In two seasons with the Colonels, Higgins had 87 catches for 1,151 yards and 13 touchdowns. He then transferred to Iowa State, where in two seasons with the Cyclones, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Higgins totaled 140 receptions for 2,166 yards and added 15 touchdowns.
Last season, his 87 catches and 1,183 yards were good enough to earn him Second-Team All-Big 12 honors and Third-Team All-American honors. That was also the second-most catches in a single season in Iowa State history, and the third-highest receiving yards total. His nine touchdowns is tied for second-best in a single season.
Higgins and Noel were one of just two wide receiver pairs to both top 1,000 yards in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). They were the first duo in the Big 12 to accomplish that feat since CeeDee Lamb and Marquise "Hollywood" Brown did it for the University of Oklahoma in 2018.
Higgins has good hands, as evidenced by his career drop rate of just 3%. He ran a 4.47 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, and measured in with a 79 3/8-inch wingspan.
Here is what Joe Marino from the “Locked on Bills” and “Locked on NFL Scouting” podcasts has to say about Higgins:
Positives:
It wouldn't surprise me if we come out of this draft in a couple years and think Jayden Higgins is the best receiver.
Size, athleticism, really good ball skills and body control. The explosive elements that he has, given his size and how he can eat up ground so quickly, I think makes him a pretty dynamic player.
When you talk about the linear route plane or the vertical route plane, there are a lot of exciting qualities with him. In a lot of ways, he's the player I think the Bills wish they got in Keon Coleman.
Concerns:
Is he going to be able to win on the horizontal route plane? I do think he has the ability to sync his hips and turn and pivot and hinge, but can he do enough on the horizontal route plane to really be a complete player?
He's also a guy that has lived in the world of contested catches, which is a very difficult way to make a living at the next level. He's good at contested catches, but can he show a complete profile as a route runner and as a separator, so that we're not having to live in that world at a high clip?
WGR will provide full coverage of the 2025 NFL Draft during all seven rounds, starting Thursday, April 24 and continuing through Saturday, April 26.
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