Could Higgins add size to the Giants’ offense?
The New York Giants top priority over the 2025 offseason is to rebuild their offense. Much of the focus will, rightly, be on the quarterback position, but the Giants could add to just about every position on their offense.
That could mean adding a wide receiver to help round out their passing game. If so, they could look to add a big receiver like Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins to complement Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Jalin Hyatt.
Higgins has excellent size at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds (unofficial), yet moves well for a big receiver. He’s also been very productive (87 receptions, 1,183 yards, 9 touchdowns in 2024) despite some poor quarterback play at Iowa State.
Could he be on the Giants’ radar?
Prospect: Jayden Higgins (9)
Games Watched: vs. Iowa (2023), vs. Texas (2023), vs. Iowa (2024), vs. West Virginia (2024)
Red Flags: none
Measurables
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 215 pounds
Strengths
Best traits
- Size
- Ball skills
- Body control
- Blocking
- Route running
- Long speed
Jayden Higgens is a big, tall, and long receiver with many of the traits that teams look for in a wide receiver prospect. He’s listed at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds and could weigh in bigger. He also clearly understands how to use his frame to his advantage in a number of situations.
Higgins is a long-striding runner who takes a couple steps to build up to top speed, but he’s capable of eating up yardage in the open field. That, along with his size, makes him a consistent threat in the intermediate to deep areas of the field.
Higgins is a relatively savvy route runner who understands how to manipulate defenders with his release, stem, and fakes throughout the route. That also extends to understanding his role in route concepts and he has a definite knack for drawing defenders to create opportunities for his teammates.
He has good ball skills down the field as well. Higgins is quick to locate the ball in the air, track it down the field, and he makes good adjustments to expand the receiving window. He also has excellent body control for a bigger receiver and is able to contort and extend to give errant passes a chance. Higgins uses late hands to keep defenders from disrupting the catch and does a very good job of plucking the ball out of the air.
Finally, he plays with great competitive toughness as both a receiver and a blocker. He’s willing (and able) to fight through physical coverage throughout his route and make catches in traffic. Likewise, he’s a willing blocker who uses his size well to sustain his blocks. In particular, he is very quick to transition from receiver to blocker after his teammate has the ball, and he’s also quick to recognize scramble drill situations and make himself available.
Weaknesses
Worst traits
- Agility
- Run after catch
Higgins’ size is something of a double-edged sword. While it’s certainly an asset and offers him a number of advantages over smaller receivers, he can’t escape physics and his size limits him in other ways.
Higgins moves well for a bigger receiver, but he lacks the lower body fluidity to be a truly agile receiver. He struggles on sharply breaking routes and his play can slow noticeably if he has to snap off sharp cuts in the short area of the field. He often requires a couple steps to throttle down before executing his breaks, which can make it difficult for him to separate in close quarters.
His issues with agility and short-area quickness also limit him after the catch. There were instances where Iowa State used him on shallow crossing routes and he was consistently brought down shortly after the catch and before he could turn upfield. He simply lacks the acceleration to break away from defenders in close quarters.
That will likely limit his appeal and prevent him from being truly scheme diverse at the NFL level.
Game Tape
(Higgins is Iowa State receiver number 9)
Projection
Jayden Higgins projects as a starting wide receiver at the NFL level. He has the size teams often look for in an outside receiver as well as enough athleticism and toughness to put his technical skills to use.
Higgins doesn’t have the rare lower-body fluidity required to be a truly scheme-diverse player at his size, and that will limit how teams can use him and which teams will find him most appealing. He likely wouldn’t fit in an offense (or role) that looks for catch-and-run production from the receivers. However, he can be used to create those opportunities for his teammates and has upside as both a possession receiver and as a vertical threat.
Higgins might not be a “WR1” at the NFL level, but he has the potential to be an excellent WR2 and a versatile compliment for a team that already has a “number one” receiver.
Does he fit the Giants?
Yes
Final Word: A Day 2 value with starting upside
