Three Cyclones were drafted on the second night of the NFL Draft. Wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel heard their names called, as did cornerback Darien Porter.
Jayden Higgins
Higgins was the first Cyclone off the board. After no former Iowa State players were taken on night one, it didn’t take long for Higgins to get drafted on night two.
In the second pick of the night, Higgins was taken by the Houston Texans at 34th overall. Houston is a team that had an already strong receiving core with Tank Dell, Nico Collins, Christian Kirk and former Cyclone Xavier Hutchinson.
The 2024-25 college football season saw Higgins reel in 1,183 yards and a team-high nine touchdowns on a team-high 87 catches. A year prior, Higgins was 17 yards short of 1,000 on the season.
Standing 6-feet 4-inches, Higgins is a vertical, physical threat, something that Houston has relied a lot on with quarterback C.J. Stroud at the helm.
Darien Porter
Early in round three of the Draft, Porter was selected 68th overall to the Las Vegas Raiders. With six years of college football under his belt, Porter is one of the most experienced rookies, but is still developing.
Porter’s career in college started as a wide receiver before he made the switch to defense and started on special teams. As he continued to work, he made his presence known in his final season at Iowa State.
His breakout game came in the 20-19 Cy-Hawk win over in-state rival Iowa, in which Porter caught the first two interceptions of his career.
In his final season, Porter was an All-Big 12 Conference Honorable Mention and tied for fourth in the FBS with two blocked kicks. Porter played in a total of 64 games as a Cyclone.
Porter’s athleticism turned heads at the NFL Combine, where he was ranked No. 2 in athleticism among the cornerbacks.
Jaylin Noel
One round after the Texans selected Higgins, they decided to take the other Cyclone receiver in the Draft. Noel went in the third round at 79th overall to join Higgins in Houston.
The two formed a bond that seemed unbreakable over the past two college football seasons, and that bond will not be broken for now as they prepare for their rookie seasons together.
Noel was right with Higgins in terms of production last season, with a team-high 1,194 yards on 80 catches and eight touchdowns. In all, Noel brings 47 games of college football experience into the NFL.
At the Combine, he ranked third in athleticism among all receivers.
While Higgins has the height, Noel has the quickness and route-running abilities. The two complemented each other in their different play styles at Iowa State and will aim to do the same together in the NFL.
