2016 NFL Draft: Why Rashard Higgins Can Be This Year's Tyler Lockett

In an NFL evaluation setting where recency bias prevails sometimes too often, finding prospect comparisons can be both fruitful and flawed. Looking for an exact replica of breakout players like Odell Beckham, Tyrann Mathieu or, in this case, Tyler Lockett will only lead to a failure in evaluation.

But comparisons are especially useful if used in a skill-based, style and/or schematic context. Rashard Higgins, the quick, isolation-thriving receiver from Colorado State, isn’t the newest edition of Seattle Seahawks 2015 breakout rookie Tyler Lockett, but his refined route IQ, his ability to finish as a receiver despite size deficiencies and his potential early scheme fits all make Lockett a great starting point when projecting Higgins’ NFL potential—especially early on.

Refined Route IQ

It’s easily understood that smaller, slighter receivers are far more reliant on quickness and route refinement to get separation as compared to their bigger counterparts. Smaller size means smaller windows for their quarterbacks, and every extra yard makes up for the two- or three-inch length discrepancy.

Kansas State vs. Iowa State, 2014

The first step in receiver development is core route refinement: focusing on the entire route tree, from footwork to upper-half usage and timing. But for a quicker receiver to truly maximize his attributes, he needs to set up head fakes, double moves and combination routes in a fluid, efficient and catching-effective manner. This is something Lockett displayed throughout his college career at Kansas State, and it proved equally effective at the NFL level.

Higgins offers similar instinctive route understanding. His route running is reminiscent of backyard football. He appears to be just trying to get open, using his speed to separate and having the end zone in mind. But his route tree isn’t merely an on-the-fly development.

Colorado State vs. Utah State

He possesses a high-level, instinctive nature to know where he can orchestrate double moves, where a defense is vulnerable and how his route can immediately set up his quarterback for a throwing lane and a quick delivery. In the play below, the 6'2" Higgins sets up the interior hitch route, patiently waits for his cover man to overpursue and follows through on the post route, keeping his shoulders square and in position to finish the catch-and-run upfield.

Colorado State vs. Utah State

While quicker receivers are generally not perceived as red-zone targets, Lockett and Higgins continue to maximize their quickness in that area as well. A receiver’s quickness can shrink a defensive back. Stutter steps, efficient footwork and well-timed high-pointing of the ball keep a defensive back off balance and grounded, thereby truly neutralizing any size deficiencies.

You can't count on Higgins to win 50-50 balls against 6'0" defensive backs, but with his quickness and route IQ, the odds are consistently stacked in his favor before the ball reaches the highest point.

Winning Like a Bigger Receiver

Barring he lands with one of the handful of truly precise passers in the NFL, Higgins' job will be to either separate himself enough to give easy throws for his quarterback or continue to finish away from his frame. With the speed of pass-rushers and defensive backs pinching closed throwing windows as quickly as they open, Higgins will need to prove he can be effective in more physical catch-points. 

Winning like a bigger receiver is crucial for an undersized prospect. The team that lands Higgins won't ask him to be a short-area, third-down jump-ball receiver, nor will he be a physical zone-beater in the midfield. However, it’s important for a receiver to at least threaten there.

Higgins has the interior route tree in his bag of potential routes, but it’s more important that he finishes interior catches where he may see a big hit, or underneath hitch routes where he’ll need to pick up four tough yards after the catch. While this isn’t where he’s best, it’s where NFL defensive backs need to know he can beat them if he hopes to be more than a one-dimensional receiver.

Colorado State vs. UNLV

As stated earlier, Higgins’ quickness and efficiency as a route-runner can neutralize the size disadvantage he’ll face against many NFL defensive backs. Most of his senior-season touchdowns came in the red zone, not on deep-breaking plays of the Lockett type.

Against UNLV alone, all three touchdown receptions were in the red zone and in one-on-one opportunities. His route separation led to the throwing window, but Higgins' repeated finishing ability coupled with the threat that he could have broken inside toward traffic allowed him to snag three touchdowns.

Conclusion

Higgins isn’t a clone of Lockett. He doesn’t have the same elite vertical speed or high-end return ability Lockett does. And vice versa, Lockett doesn’t have the underneath route polish that Higgins already possesses.

But as NFL teams try to place where Higgins can contribute early in his NFL career, they’ll look to how Lockett was able to make such a smooth transition and how Seattle maximized his skill set.

Smaller receivers who are more than just vertically testing receivers all share a common characteristic: route instinct. It’s not something easily taught or diagrammed on the whiteboard. It’s something that quicker receivers like Higgins have a feel for over years of maximizing their skill sets.

Higgins has concerns in terms of his body type, scheme/role limitations and potentially good-not-great vertical speed, but his maximization of his assets coupled with impact receivers like Lockett pave the way for Higgins' NFL interest and early-on pro success.