From now until the 2025 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top 10 picks, down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Iowa LB Jay Higgins.
#34 Jay Higgins/LB Iowa – 5116, 226 pounds (Senior)
Measurements
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Jay Higgins | 5116/226 | 9 1/2 | 31 | 73 7/8 |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
THE GOOD
– Active player always around the ball
– Fanatical effort and chases the ball all over the field
– Sideline range and heart, takes good angles, and able to stop perimeter plays
– Plays downhill and flashes ability to get off blocks and fill the run
– Good technique and plays inside out against the run
– Delivers a rising blow, plays with leverage and pad level
– Hitter who creates power on contact
– Wraps and takes down receivers in open field in short passing game
– Displays great feel for route combinations in zone coverage, reads QB and can make splash plays (four INTs in 2024)
– Effective blitzer with great closing speed and finish
– High level of production, tackle machine, and quarterback of the defense with green-dot capability
– Highly decorated and leader
– Special teams value and experience from first two years of career
The Bad
– Undersized, short, and below ideal weight, looks small on the field
– Too often engulfed and overmatched by linemen able to latch on and control him in run game
– Inconsistent block shedding and prone to getting stuck
– Can get washed out by down blocks
– Limited athlete, choppy footsteps, and will get outrun by skill positions
– Stiff change of direction
– Can succeed in man against option routes but unable to turn and run and cover vertically
– Routinely falls off tacklers in the box/run game
– Late to key ball on play-fakes/window dressing and when back is behind LOS; lack of height hurts ability to find runner
– May lack three-down/all-situations value
Bio
– Turns 23 in February 2025
– 58 career games, 29 starts
– Career: 341 tackles (14th in school history) 9 TFL, 9 PDs, 5 INTs, 3.5 sacks, 3 FFs
– 2024: 124 tackles (2.5 TFL) 4 INTs, 2 FFs, 1 sack
– Unanimous First-Team AP All-American selection in 2024
– NCAA-leading 171 tackles in 2023, replacing Jack Campbell as starter (career-best was 18 against Penn State in 2023)
– Three-star recruit from Indianapolis, Indiana, chose Iowa over Air Force, Toledo, Miami (OH), and several other schools (mostly from the MAC, no offer from Indiana); received Iowa scholarship after DC worked him out and said there was one scholarship for a handful of recruited LBs
– Four-time captain (junior and senior in high school, junior and senior in college)
– Played LB and TE in high school, set school record with 471 tackles while also being a three-time letterman in basketball (says his first love was being on the court)
– Given name is Roy Jabez Higgins IV
– Father is a minister
– Coaches praise him for high football IQ and intense study sessions
– Suffered collarbone injury senior year of high school
– Avid fisherman
– Played QB in first grade, was coached by his father as a kid
– Won school’s 2023 “Golden Gavel,” awarded to player most professional with media
– Went viral in 2024 for shaking hands with Nebraska team following win after Nebraska captains didn’t shake hands at coin toss
– Best friend is teammate and fellow LB Nick Jackson
Tape Breakdown
Jay Higgins was an overlooked recruit despite a successful college career. The MAC made a full-court press, but Iowa took notice and staved off late pushes from Wisconsin and bigger schools. After biding his time behind Jack Campbell in his first two years, Higgins was a tackling machine in 2023 and 2024. His sideline-to-sideline chase helped add to those numbers, playing all out all the time. His effort is fanatical.
While a limited athlete, Higgins shows a really strong feel for route combinations behind and around him while dropping into zone. He can match and squeeze windows, making the tackle or picking off passes.
But Higgins is undersized and not a stellar athlete. He’s prone to getting stuck on blocks and engulfed in the run game, and his run defense is hit-and-miss.
Athletically, he shows solid closing speed, but he’s not going to carry tight ends in man coverage and is limited to zone. There are times when his effort and angles simply aren’t enough, and his athleticism can’t close the gap.
Conclusion
Overall, Higgins is smart, a leader, and easy to root for. He’s consistently surpassed expectations, and doing so again in the NFL might be foolhardy. However, a combination of lack of size and athleticism is a big concern for making the jump to the next level, and his heart and smarts will only get him so far. There’s little doubt Higgins can carve out a role on special teams, but anything beyond that is a harder sell.
My NFL comp is Grant Stuard.
Projection: Mid Day Three
Depot Draft Grade: 6.3 – Sixth-Seventh Round (End Of Roster/Practice Squad)
Games Watched: at Michigan State (2023), at Wisconsin (2023), vs Iowa State (2024), at Ohio State (2024)
