2 weeks Ago
The Houston Texans have added another former Iowa State wide receiver, selecting Jayden Higgins in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night. Higgins joins ex-Cyclone Xavier Hutchinson as weapons for star quarterback CJ Stroud. The Texans selected him with the 34th pick overall in the second round.
It didn’t take long for Higgins to hear his name called, as he was the second player picked in the round. The 6-foot-4, 214-pounder fills a key need for Houston as they continue to load up on offense with Tank Dell expected to miss time due to an injury. The Texans let Stefon Diggs leave in free agency and have not resigned Robert Woods at this point.
Higgins joins a wide receiver room that includes Hutchinson, Pro Bowler Nico Collins, Christian Kirk, Justin Watson, Braxton Berrios and John Metchie III. An All-American for Iowa State, Higgins played for two seasons after starting out at Eastern Kentucky in FCS. He caught 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns this past year, as his reception total was the second-most in school history.
Higgins would top 100 yards in five games and had 17 receptions of 20-plus yards. He also broke the school record for TD receptions in consecutive games at seven and had a nine-reception, 214-yard performance in the 2023 Liberty Bowl. With his selection at No.
34, Higgins is the third-highest drafted Cyclone in school history behind George Amundson in 1973 and Will McDonald in 2023. Amundson was selected with pick No. 14 and McDonald at No.
15. Matt Campbell has now had 13 players drafted since becoming the head coach at Iowa State with three receivers among those. Jaylin Noel and Darien Porter are both expected to hear their names called in the upcoming rounds.
.
