Texans' Jayden Higgins Becomes 1st NFL 2nd-Round Pick to Get Fully Guaranteed Contract

Rookie Jayden Higgins is yet to play a snap in the NFL, but the Houston Texans wide receiver reportedly already made history.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Thursday that Higgins and the Texans agreed to a fully guaranteed four-year, $11.7 million contract. The deal made him the first second-round pick in league history to ink a fully guaranteed rookie contract.

Pelissero added more details:

Houston selected Higgins early in the second round with the 34th overall pick as it looked to address a position of need at wide receiver. Stefon Diggs is no longer on the roster, while Tank Dell is recovering from a significant knee injury that required multiple surgeries.

There is still not a definitive timeline for his return to the field after he dislocated his knee and tore his ACL, MCL and LCL.

That left plenty of question marks for the Texans at wide receiver heading into the offseason, and drafting Higgins as a secondary playmaker alongside No. 1 option Nico Collins is one way they provided answers.

Higgins finished his final season at Iowa State with 87 catches for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns after posting 53 catches for 983 yards and six scores in 2023. 

B/R's NFL Scouting Department ranked Higgins as the 11th-best wide receiver in its final big board of prospects. 

Houston clearly valued him more than that, though, as he was the fourth wide receiver taken during the draft behind only Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan, Ohio State's Emeka Egbuka and Texas' Matthew Golden.