Texans draft potential Stefon Diggs replacement as new CJ Stroud weapon

The Houston Texans are one of the most intriguing teams of this offseason after a relatively disappointing season in 2024, despite still winning the AFC South and making it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. This offseason, Houston let Stefon Diggs walk to the New England Patriots and traded star left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders.

Many mock drafts projected an offensive lineman in the first round to the Texans at pick No. 25 to replace Tunsil, but they had other ideas. Houston traded out of the first round, allowing the New York Giants to come up and get Jaxson Dart.

Houston finally made its first pick of the draft on Friday night at No. 34, using that selection to get CJ Stroud another pass catcher. The Texans scooped up Iowa State wide receiver Jayden Higgins with their first pick.

The Texans can now pair Higgins with Nico Collins and Tank Dell, whenever he is ready to return from injury. After Diggs left in free agency, Houston has now added a third wide receiver to the room to give Stroud ample weapons to throw to.

Higgins is a big body who will be able to man the outside, allowing Houston to move Collins around. If the Texans want to bump the superstar into the slot, Higgins is still the type of guy who can win on the outside and make contested catches. In 2024, Higgins caught 87 balls for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns for a very good Iowa State team. He reeled in over 2,000 yards in total in his two seasons in Ames.

Time will tell if Higgins can be a reliable weapon for the Texans. He struggled to get separation at times and didn't run a super diverse route tree in college, so he could be limited in the ways that the Texans can use him. However, going to a team with established stars at the position should allow him to play a role that he can excel at early on.