The draft analytics community has defended and stood by Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins’ production and talent throughout this draft process.
Two interesting tweets were posted out by Pro Football Focus Tuesday with two interesting stats. The first tweet mentioned Higgins’ impressive production on screen passes the past two seasons.
Colorado State WR Rashard Higgins averaged over 16 yards per catch on screens the past two seasons#NFLDraft
— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 19, 2016
This should come as no surprise to Ram fans who watched Higgins catch screen after screen from Garrett Grayson and Nick Stevens and then turn them into 50, 60 and 70-yard gains. Especially in 2014.
The second tweet ranked the receivers from the 2016 draft class based on who had the highest yards per route in their collegiate careers. Higgins ranked fifth with an impressive 3.45 yards per reception.
Highest yards per route run for WR draft class:
1. L. Carroo 4.11
2. J. Doctson 4.07
3. C. Coleman 3.97
4. R. Louis 3.51
5. R. Higgins 3.45— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 19, 2016
Also, today ESPN published an article that offered up some of PFF’s most underrated prospects in this entire draft class (regardless of position). Given these tweets, it should come as no surprise that the very first name on the list was our very own star receiver.
Here’s what PFF had to say explaining why Higgins is a valuable pick and an underrated prospect at this point:
“In a deep wide receiver class, Higgins can fly under the radar, but his two-year body of work is excellent. His plus-32.0 receiving grade ranked third in the nation in 2014, trailing only Amari Cooper and Tyler Lockett, who are both coming off solid rookie seasons in the NFL. He took a step back in 2015 and ranked 12th in the nation due to a subpar quarterback situation. Higgins is a savvy route runner, capable of creating separation against man coverage while showing a knack for getting open against zones. He also has great feel and vision after the catch, as evidenced by his averaging over 16 yards per reception on screen passes alone.”
Despite an underwhelming showing in the athletic portions (NFL Scouting Combine and Pro Day) of the draft process Higgins’ stock hasn’t taken much of a fall in large part due to media analysts defending his talent and production and being able to see past the underwear olympic results.
Multiple NFL teams are interested in possibly landing Higgins’ services, and we can’t wait to see where he becomes a Next Level Ram.
