Jayden Higgins Or Jaylin Noel? Patriots Likely To Weigh These Differences

Nobody is going to confuse Iowa State with Wide Receiver University.

That sort of moniker has traditionally been saved for the likes of Ohio State and LSU. However, football fans shouldn’t be surprised if they hear not one but two Cyclones have their names called early in the 2025 NFL Draft.

It’s hard to find a wideout pairing anywhere in the country that was better than Iowa State’s duo of Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel in 2024. They led the Cyclones to a program-record 11 wins and the Big 12 Championship Game this past season while combining for 167 receptions for 2,377 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Their production and potential, along with impressive showings at the NFL scouting combine, have experts ranking them neck and neck. Dane Brugler’s “The Beast” draft guide ranked Noel (WR5, No. 42 overall) just ahead of Higgins (WR6, No. 45). ESPN’s Matt Miller listed Noel and Higgins 40th and 41st, respectively, out of 600-plus prospects. Both are likely to be gone by the third round.

The key question for receiver-needy teams like the New England Patriots: Whose skillset do you prefer?

“I know it’s boring, but I don’t have a great answer for you on that one,” Iowa State assistant Noah Pauley told NESN.com with a chuckle.

The inability (or unwillingness) of the Cyclones’ pass-game coordinator and wide receivers coach to choose between the two studs wasn’t surprising. Pauley did, however, weigh in on which receiver has the edge when it comes to route-running, creating separation, physicality, run-blocking and more.

Pauley confirmed Higgins is the better option as an outside receiver, a unanimous assessment in the draft world. Higgins’ size (6-foot-4, 214 pounds) and speed (4.47-second 40-yard dash time) have earned him comparisons to Drake London and Nico Collins. He lined up out wide on more than 70% of his snaps in 2024 and finished with the most contested catches (20) in the Big 12 last season.

A two-star high school recruit who started at Eastern Kentucky (FCS), Higgins developed in a big way. He caught 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns in his final season at Iowa State. It marked the second-most receiving touchdowns in a single season in program history.

“What made him such a great red-zone target for us was, obviously, size and getting into corners that aren’t as big,” Pauley said. “You felt you could call an X Fade for him and he could find a way to win.”

Though Higgins’ size made him a weapon outside the numbers, the Cyclones didn’t hesitate to use the versatile pass-catcher in the slot. He played a career-high 138 snaps inside in 2024, a noticeable uptick from his first season at Iowa State.

“I think his skillset and his twitchiness in the slot is really scary against linebackers and safeties,” said Pauley, who gave Higgins the edge over Noel in route-running.

That twitchiness was a major reason Higgins succeeded on slant routes, his favorite route to run. He compiled the second-most receptions (28), second-most touchdowns (four) and third-most yards (377) on slant routes over the last two seasons, per ESPN.

“He could run it five different ways,” Pauley said. “That’s what he was really good at.”

When it comes to Noel, Pauley said he has the edge playing inside. Some analysts view Noel as strictly a slot receiver given his lack of length (5-foot-10, 194 pounds), but his explosiveness (4.39 40-yard dash, 41 1/2-inch vertical) could play outside, too.

Noel played 69.6% of his snaps in the slot last season, almost a perfect opposite to Higgins. But with the Cyclones needing Noel on the field in two-receiver sets, he increased his workload out wide (career-most 133 snaps in 2024). It’s why Pauley doesn’t feel Noel should be pigeonholed to the slot.

“I think that’s what truly blossomed his game,” Pauley said. “Learning how to run the comebacks, the curls, the digs from the outside that he wasn’t asked to do as much of during his first two years here.”

Noel hauled in 80 catches for 1,194 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024. He concluded his four seasons in Ames with the second-most catches (245) and fourth-most receiving yards (2,851) in program history. Not bad for a three-star high school recruit who was the 124th-ranked wide receiver in his class, per 247 Sports.

Noel’s production was largely a product of his ability to create separation, uncovering in a flash with his ability to get in and out of breaks. He’s explosive and offers big-play ability from the slot, which can be hard to find. Noel’s separation is another edge he has over Higgins — though it caused the most deliberation from Pauley.

“You take that (size weakness) and then you look at his separation and how he creates in routes,” Pauley said. “That’s really where he’s made his money in being a technician on running routes, being powerful as a 200-pound guy that can be physical at the top of the routes.”

Noel, who reportedly had a pre-draft visit with the Patriots, has been compared to the Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown and the legendary Steve Smith Sr. — two undersized weapons who popped with their strength and physicality.

With those comparisons, both Higgins and Noel come with high expectations. Pauley, who watched them refine their process and showcase exemplary work habits, believes both are capable of turning into elite receivers at the next level. He knows what that looks like after developing the Green Bay Packers’ Christian Watson before Higgins and Noel.

Now it’s up to the Patriots, and every receiver-needy team, to answer the most pivotal question.