The New England Patriots made significant investments at wide receiver in NFL free agency by signing Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins.
But their work is far from done.
Specifically, the Patriots could use a field-stretching wideout to improve a group that lacked a big-play threat in 2024 and ranked 28th in the NFL in EPA (expected points added) per pass play at -0.18.
The first field-stretcher that comes to mind in the 2025 NFL Draft is Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, a 6-foot-4, 219-pound physical specimen who put up video-game numbers for the Wildcats in 2024 (84 receptions, 1,319 yards and eight touchdowns) and is viewed as the best wideout in this class outside Colorado’s Travis Hunter.
But former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer has his eye on another big-bodied receiver: Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins.
Hoyer, who played under new Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in both New England (2017-2018; 2020-2021) and Las Vegas (2023), joined our Patriots Insiders Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry to break down film of the top receiver prospects in the 2025 class. Here’s his take on Higgins as compared to McMillan:
“Similar in size, similar in speed, and is much more polished when it comes to route-running, when it comes to competitiveness,” Hoyer said.
“I get it, people are excited about Tet. But this guy (Higgins) does the same things, and I see him compete non-stop over and over again. The routes are more precise, and that’s what they’re going to be looking for when you get to the NFL level.”
Hoyer also noted that Higgins, who caught 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns for the Cyclones last season, is more than just a deep threat, and that McDaniels could utilize the 22-year-old in a few different ways.
“When you watch him, he’s much more versatile to be moved around as opposed to Tet McMillan,” Hoyer said of Higgins. “This guy, you could play him at F, you could play him at the X. The Z in this scheme is more of your slot guy, so that’s going to be Pop (DeMario) Douglas.
“… Ultimately, a guy like this is going to be an F and an X receiver in this system, and I think he has the route versatility as opposed to a guy like Tet, who might just have one or two routes. This guy is going to have a more complex route tree, and you can tell he’s been well-coached.”
Higgins — a projected second-round pick — has a very similar build to McMillan (6-foot-4, 214 pounds), but Hoyer believes his versatility and superior route-running make him a better fit for New England’s offense than McMillan.
“Right now, the Patriots’ receiver room doesn’t have that guy over 6-foot-3 other than Mack Hollins,” Hoyer said. “So, here’s a guy who can maybe be the bigger target, but you also can bring him inside. We saw him with the shorter route earlier where he had a little wiggle, gets off the ball.
“The more I watch the film of Jayden Higgins, the more I like him better than Tet.”
Check out the video below to watch Hoyer break down film of Hunter, McMillan, Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka, Iowa State’s Jaylin Noel, Washington State’s Kyle Williams and TCU’s Jack Bech.
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