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If the Green Bay Packers are going to address the wide receiver position in the 2025 NFL draft, they have plenty of options who would fit the bill on Day 2, where they have had a track record of success in the past.
Iowa State's Jayden Higgins is quickly emerging as the most ideal fit, boasting the features Green Bay usually values in their receivers, while also filling a need based on the outlook for their receiver room in the next couple of years.
He has excellent size at 6-4 and 214 pounds and is a top tier athlete, with a relative athletic score (RAS) of 9.61 on a 0-10 scale. Higgins did all the athletic testing, which is also helpful (and becoming more and more novel) because the metrics matter to Green Bay.
Running a 4.47 40-yard dash at his size is impressive, and Higgins also jumped 39" in the vert and 10-8 in the broad.
The Packers also value production at receiver almost more than any other position when it comes to the draft, and Higgins has plenty of it.
Over his last three college seasons, two at Iowa State and one at Eastern Kentucky, Higgins has put up over 2,900 yards and 25 touchdowns on 198 receptions. He has four years of college experience and will not turn 23 until December.
Higgins has been a high-quality, well-rounded receiver at the college level. He ranks in the top 6% of qualified receivers in yards per route run (Y/RR) over the last two seasons and has fared well against both man and zone coverage, ranking in the top 8% against zone and 13% against man.
He also has specific qualities which seem tailored to replace a key starter who is in the last year of his deal, although maybe not the one you are thinking of.
Like Christian Watson, Higgins is big and fast, but is not the same kind of deep threat. On average he ranked 152nd in the FBS in average depth of target (ADOT) over the last two years. That is not to say he cannot be an effective downfield receiver, but it is not his calling card.
Much of the conversation around Green Bay's "need" at receiver this offseason has been focused on replicating Watson's impact on the offense while he recovers from a knee injury, but the Packers are not generally in the business of using premium draft picks just to plug short-term problems.
They do regularly use the draft to get out in front of future roster holes though. Watson of course is set to be a free agent after the 2025 season, but so is Romeo Doubs. The need to plan for his departure has not been discussed nearly as much.
Higgins not only would make an ideal long-term replacement for Doubs, but could supercharge the possession receiver role for Green Bay in a way they have not enjoyed for a while.
In the last three seasons, the Packers have only had two receivers rank in the top 32 for first downs. Doubs was 23rd in the NFL in 2023, and Allen Lazard was 28th in 2022. Higgins ranked in the top 7% of receivers for first downs, and had the second-most in the entire FBS in 2024 behind only San Jose State's Nick Nash.
Doubs and Watson are the only two receivers on the roster with a career contested catch win rate above 50% in the NFL. Higgins averaged 55.6% in college, and also had a drop rate of just 3%, significantly better than Doubs' 8.1%, which is the best mark of Green Bay's current top four receivers.
The comparison to Lazard is an obvious one, given he and Higgins both went to Iowa State, but looking at their profiles, Higgins could very much be a rich man's Lazard with more athleticism.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke at the NFL scouting combine about the Packers offense, which can generate explosive plays with the best teams in the league, needing to be able to control games better.
Given how much they leaned into the run game last year, and will probably do again, facing more third downs may come with the territory. One way to control games more effectively would be to convert more third downs and stay on the field.
The talk of Jordan Love needing a "WR1" has been done to death, but there is validity to the idea that he needs someone he can reliably go to on third downs and in the red zone, who he knows will get the job done. Higgins could be the answer.
His presence would also not make Watson redundant and would leave the door open for him to stay with the team in 2026 and beyond.
Higgins is currently ranked 54th on the consensus big board, which just happens to be where the Packers pick in the second round. He makes a lot of sense and could even be a target for a trade up from 54 or a trade back from their first round pick at 23.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Is Jayden Higgins the ideal wide receiver prospect for the Packers?
Continue reading...
Iowa State's Jayden Higgins is quickly emerging as the most ideal fit, boasting the features Green Bay usually values in their receivers, while also filling a need based on the outlook for their receiver room in the next couple of years.
He has excellent size at 6-4 and 214 pounds and is a top tier athlete, with a relative athletic score (RAS) of 9.61 on a 0-10 scale. Higgins did all the athletic testing, which is also helpful (and becoming more and more novel) because the metrics matter to Green Bay.
Running a 4.47 40-yard dash at his size is impressive, and Higgins also jumped 39" in the vert and 10-8 in the broad.
The Packers also value production at receiver almost more than any other position when it comes to the draft, and Higgins has plenty of it.
Over his last three college seasons, two at Iowa State and one at Eastern Kentucky, Higgins has put up over 2,900 yards and 25 touchdowns on 198 receptions. He has four years of college experience and will not turn 23 until December.
Higgins has been a high-quality, well-rounded receiver at the college level. He ranks in the top 6% of qualified receivers in yards per route run (Y/RR) over the last two seasons and has fared well against both man and zone coverage, ranking in the top 8% against zone and 13% against man.
He also has specific qualities which seem tailored to replace a key starter who is in the last year of his deal, although maybe not the one you are thinking of.
Like Christian Watson, Higgins is big and fast, but is not the same kind of deep threat. On average he ranked 152nd in the FBS in average depth of target (ADOT) over the last two years. That is not to say he cannot be an effective downfield receiver, but it is not his calling card.
Much of the conversation around Green Bay's "need" at receiver this offseason has been focused on replicating Watson's impact on the offense while he recovers from a knee injury, but the Packers are not generally in the business of using premium draft picks just to plug short-term problems.
They do regularly use the draft to get out in front of future roster holes though. Watson of course is set to be a free agent after the 2025 season, but so is Romeo Doubs. The need to plan for his departure has not been discussed nearly as much.
Higgins not only would make an ideal long-term replacement for Doubs, but could supercharge the possession receiver role for Green Bay in a way they have not enjoyed for a while.
In the last three seasons, the Packers have only had two receivers rank in the top 32 for first downs. Doubs was 23rd in the NFL in 2023, and Allen Lazard was 28th in 2022. Higgins ranked in the top 7% of receivers for first downs, and had the second-most in the entire FBS in 2024 behind only San Jose State's Nick Nash.
Doubs and Watson are the only two receivers on the roster with a career contested catch win rate above 50% in the NFL. Higgins averaged 55.6% in college, and also had a drop rate of just 3%, significantly better than Doubs' 8.1%, which is the best mark of Green Bay's current top four receivers.
The comparison to Lazard is an obvious one, given he and Higgins both went to Iowa State, but looking at their profiles, Higgins could very much be a rich man's Lazard with more athleticism.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke at the NFL scouting combine about the Packers offense, which can generate explosive plays with the best teams in the league, needing to be able to control games better.
Given how much they leaned into the run game last year, and will probably do again, facing more third downs may come with the territory. One way to control games more effectively would be to convert more third downs and stay on the field.
The talk of Jordan Love needing a "WR1" has been done to death, but there is validity to the idea that he needs someone he can reliably go to on third downs and in the red zone, who he knows will get the job done. Higgins could be the answer.
His presence would also not make Watson redundant and would leave the door open for him to stay with the team in 2026 and beyond.
Higgins is currently ranked 54th on the consensus big board, which just happens to be where the Packers pick in the second round. He makes a lot of sense and could even be a target for a trade up from 54 or a trade back from their first round pick at 23.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Is Jayden Higgins the ideal wide receiver prospect for the Packers?
Continue reading...
