Battle Red Blog
The 2025 regular season has been quite and interesting one for the Houston Texans: they kicked off the season by going 0-3, practically left for dead by much of the football viewing public, and now have since gone 6-2, most recently defeating the mighty Buffalo Bills in the final seconds of Thursday Night Football. Recuperated and reenergized, the Texans have to thank multiple rookies for their return to playoff competition, but some have done more for the team than others. Which rookies have been the most important? In this draft class where offense was the clear focus, which of the many new players is most responsible for Houston’s improvement down the stretch? And, who’s most at fault for their slow start in September? Well, now that we’re squarely in the middle of the regular season, I think it’s about time to revisit the 2025 Class and grade them for their performance thus far. Here’s my midseason grades for every 2025 Houston Texans draftee:
Note: Back in April, I posted grades for each draft selection soon after the draft had concluded. If you’d like to see my first impressions of each draftee, click here. The grade’s for this post will be more predicated upon how much they’ve produced (and played) for the Houston Texans football team during the regular season.
Measurables: Height: 6’4”, Weight: 215lbs, Hand: 9 ½”, Arm: 33 ½”, 40-yard dash: 4.47s, Vertical Jump: 39”, Broad Jump: 10’8”
Rookie Statistics (As of Week 12): 11 Games (6 Starts), 27 Receptions on 45 Targets (60.0 Ctch%), 294 Yards, 4 TDs, 26.7 Yards per Game
Grade: B
Jayden Higgins was the Houston Texans’ first pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, so even though they traded down to the second round to get him, Higgins arrived in Texas with expectations already through the roof. The Texans went through a revolving door of wide receivers towards the end of the 2024 season, so Higgins was seen as both a starter and a remedy to their lack of quality depth at the position. Unfortuneately, though, Higgins hasn’t been the immediate plus starter that many might had been hoping for. Higgins only had six targets in the first four games of the season, becoming just another also-ran during a time in which Houston’s offense melted down into an ugly mire. This is not Higgins’ fault by any stretch, but he also was not effective (or open) enough during that stretch to raise the passing offense up and above their abysmal state. Although, he still got at least one catch in every game, using those scant opportunities to prove his size and speed are NFL-caliber.
And then, the Houston Texans travelled to Baltimore in October to face the Ravens, and everything began to change. In that blowout victory, Jayden Higgins caught all four passes thrown his direction for 32 yards, signaling greater determination by Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley to get him...
