RP Clips: Jayden Higgins is a Strong Sleeper

**Matt Harmon** (0:00)
This is Reception Perception, The Show. James Koh and Matt Harmon. Let's stay in the AFC South and go to our next guy here. And this is one that you and I are in agreement on, because we both have Jayden Higgins ranked in the 40s. Meanwhile, he goes off the board on Yahoo Draft's wide receiver 66, year 24 spots. I'm pretty similarly high relative to ADP on Jayden Higgins. So make the case for the Texan second year receiver.

**Jeff Bell** (0:27)
Yeah, I do think it's... I have the concept of a meme wide receiver in my head. I don't know that he really qualifies for a meme receiver, but it's one of those things that as you have... Like Quinton Johnson, I think, is a meme receiver, basically. There's so many jokes told about Quinton Johnson that even no matter what he does, he will always be discounted.

**Matt Harmon** (0:45)
He'll always be his rookie year. That's what I've been saying on this show all summer. Like I've been saying this to James, and we could talk about him because it's behind his back. He's not here. I'm like, dude, you've got to let it go. Like he's not that...
He's a flawed player still. We'd all agree, but he's not that player anymore.

**Jeff Bell** (0:58)
Yeah, exactly. But I think Higgins is a player that it was so quiet over the first half of last year, and even recognizing that there was potential opportunity over the first half of last year.
You're running up against that, if that quiet rollout, because the second half of the year, he was very, very good, came on and really established himself in that offense. I think the other part of it is the CJ Stroud of it all, where our last impression of CJ Stroud was that mess of a game against New England, which Drake May did not play well in either.
So I think that that colors the overall conception on this offense. I think the other, I am pulling really hard for Tinkdall, and I would love to see Tinkdall back. The story of Tinkdall is awesome, it's fascinating, but I think we need to be realistic from a fantasy standpoint and recognize that it'd be one thing if Tinkdall is back on the NFL field making plays as a receiver. It's quite another thing for him to be getting heavy volume to be fantasy relevant in that regard. I do think that there's, overall, probably in the market, there's a little bit more positive sentiment towards, I want to cheer for Tinkdall, so I'm going to take Tinkdall, and I know as I'm going through a draft, if I want to get a later Browns pass catcher is a good example this year, that might lead me to be out on the earlier Browns pass catchers. I don't know if that becomes a factor in it. I don't know if there's belief that Higgins was drafted to replace Nico Collins. I don't know what it is, but every report, every indication we see is they've basically got two wide receivers that are locked in as the outside receivers. I mean, Nico Collins, CJ Stroud, just raving about Jayden Higgins. And so I'm way above the market and I feel like I might be even way too low on what we could see out of Jayden Higgins, simply fundamentally of how this could really work out for him.

**Matt Harmon** (2:52)
Yeah.
Like I said, you and I are on lockstep on this one. And I was someone that was a little skeptical about Higgins as a prospect, just because size, frame wise, these are the type of guys. I mean, listen, you know, this is a Bill's fan. The Keon Coleman conundrum is like, these are the guys who end up getting pigeonholed as X receivers because of their size. And just like the throwback prototype of this particular archetype of receivers. But that's, I don't think the vision for Higgins in Houston and him landing there with Nico Collins is a big deal. By the way, like I struggled to get people excited about Nico Collins this year because of the CJ Stroud factor to your point. So like I get it then why they're not like, well, I'm lining up to draft the second Texans receiver. You know, I do understand that, but Stroud was the top 10 quarterback by EPA per play last year. You know, just all the moments that we all saw, the two playoff games, was it the Monday night game in Seattle? Those were like by far his worst games. So I think those are carrying and they were, especially playoff games, historically bad. I mean, historically bad. I get that. By the way, Nico Collins not healthy through the postseason as well, which also again brings you back to the Higgins point. It can't be overstated the fact that like when he started to come on at the end of last year, he was used much more as that Z receiver, more off ball, more on the breaking route. The point that in our player comparison tool, like he does get some Kenny Galladay, Cedric Tillman type comps, but there's also like Tim Patrick, Adam Thielen, Jawan Jennings, these guys that were more bigger slot off ball Z receivers. I think those are the types that ultimately, if he's defined success in the NFL, I think it will be with that type of usage. I think that's what's coming this year. So yeah, Higgins is like, he's the sleeper that I feel, stupid to say this because everybody's talking all the time. Certainly on this show, I'm talking all the time.