The primary a part of the Texans’ all-Iowa State receiver mission on Day 2 will deliver an vital distinction into the NFL. Higgins will turn into the primary second-round choose to see his contract absolutely assured.
The Texans have been recognized to provide friendly guarantee structures to their second-round picks, thus shifting the NFL ahead on this entrance, and their transfer for a participant chosen thirty fourth general successfully bins the Browns in whereas probably complicating negotiations for groups that made mid-30s picks in final month’s draft. The Texans added Higgins after buying and selling down from No. 25 (via the Giants).
Cleveland selected Carson Schwesinger
at No. 33; Houston’s choice will result in the previous UCLA linebacker’s camp mandating a totally assured contract. Higgins’ will likely be value $11.7M over 4 years. This draft slot introduced a near-full assure in 2024, with $9.19M of Ladd McConkey‘s $9.99M rookie deal locked in at signing. Even final yr’s No. 33 general selection (Payments wideout Keon Coleman) didn’t fairly safe absolutely assured phrases, however second-rounders have been making inroads on this entrance for years.
It took till the 2022 draft for all first-round contracts to turn into assured, so it is sensible the NFL has seen its second-rounders land locked-in offers. The league has come a great distance when it comes to assured proportion for second-rounders. When the rookie scale debuted in 2011, that yr’s No. 33 general choose (the Patriots’ Ras-I Dowling) noticed simply $2.36M of his $5.3M rookie contract assured. Will probably be attention-grabbing to see if the Seahawks (Nick Emmanwori) and Browns (Quinshon Judkins) transfer the total assure line past No. 34 this yr.
Higgins and third-rounder Jaylin Noel, who additionally signed his rookie contract (per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson), will turn into the uncommon school receiver duo to every be a part of the identical NFL staff in a draft. The Cyclones relied on their Jayden-Jaylin tandem final season, and after the Texans couldn’t swing a trade-up to reunite
C.J. Stroud and Emeka Egbuka in Spherical 1, they targeted on the Massive 12 program’s passing assault the next night time.
The No. 46 participant on Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com massive board, Higgins broke by way of for 87 receptions, 1,183 yards and 9 touchdowns final season. Standing 6-foot-4 and 214 kilos, Higgins will complement Noel’s slot skillset in Houston simply as he did in Ames. The No. 79 general choose, Noel (No. 50 on Jeremiah’s board) narrowly topped Higgins’ 2024 manufacturing by accumulating 1,194 yards final season — to go together with eight TDs. Noel performed 4 seasons at Iowa State, whereas Higgins transferred from Japanese Kentucky in 2023.
The Texans invested closely on the receiver place after seeing Tank Dell endure one other main harm — this one threatening to sideline him all through the 2025 season — and permitting Stefon Diggs to defect (to the Patriots) in free company. Houston additionally misplaced complementary cog Robert Woods (to Pittsburgh). Although it used a 2022 second-round choose on John Metchie, the staff has not seen the Alabama product turn into a reliable piece but. The ex-Cyclones will purpose to turn into Nico Collins‘ high sidekicks this yr.
