With the NFL Draft quickly approaching, a whole host of potential “Next Level Rams” are waiting on their chance to shine.
March 9 was Colorado State Rams football’s Pro Day, with many Draft hopefuls performing for the world of NFL scouts to see. And one more, running back Jasen Oden, will have a personal Pro Day on April 6 due to a previous injury.
Of course, the biggest name of all the aspiring “Next Level Rams” is Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins, CSU’s greatest receiver of all time. “Hollywood” delighted Ram Nation with highlight worthy plays week-in and week-out for three years, declaring for the Draft after his junior year.
Pro Football Focus, who grade both college and professional players, today named Higgins their No. 1 receiver Draft prospect from outside the Power 5 conferences.
.@PFF_Zoltan identifies the top talent in the NFL draft from outside of the Power-5: https://t.co/raqS7aKS9K
— PFF (@PFF) March 31, 2016
Zoltan Buday wrote of Higgins:
“Higgins was our second-highest graded wide receiver in 2014, second only to Tyler Lockett and just ahead of Amari Cooper. If his company on that list is any indication, he can be one of the biggest steals of Day 2. While he took a step back in 2015, it was mostly because Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson left to the NFL in 2014. However, Higgins still finished third in yards per route run in this year’s draft class behind Josh Doctson and Corey Coleman with 3.45 yards. Although Higgins’ overall production decreased in 2015, he did improve in one facet of the game: he was able to decrease his drop rate from 7.69 (eight drops) in 2014 to 3.85 (three drops) in 2015.”
“Day 2” means they expect Higgins to go in Rounds 2-3, which begins on Friday, April 29 at 5 p.m. MT. It’s a similar expectation from many of the Draft experts around the league.
His decent Pro Day didn’t necessarily boost his stock, with a 4.57 and 4.55 in the 40-yard dash, a 32.5 inch vertical and 13 reps on the bench press, but what he does bring to the table is the ability to run the entire route tree. Many receivers coming out of college are only experts on a few routes, while Higgins can run them all with ease.
Watch Higgins’ video interview from Pro Day here, as he explains what he can bring to an NFL team.
