Who Should I Start? Calvin Austin III or Jayden Higgins

Wednesday, June 11, 5:17 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni likes Calvin Austin III to be the team's No. 2 wideout behind DK Metcalf in 2025 after George Pickens was traded to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason. Azzanni said that Austin is being overlooked and that he is a "legit NFL receiver" that "gets separation all over the field." Roman Wilson and others will be working as a committee behind Metcalf and Austin to open the 2025 regular season. Austin, a former fourth-rounder (138th overall) in 2022 out of Memphis, caught 36 of his 58 targets for 548 yards and four touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (eight starts) in his second season in the NFL last year. He is definitely going to have a bigger role in 2025, but in what is expected to be a run-heavy offense with quarterback Aaron Rodgers likely in the last season of his career, we'd expect Austin to struggle for volume on a week-to-week basis.

Sunday, June 15, 1:52 PM

Houston Texans rookie second-round wide receiver Jayden Higgins impressed during the team's mandatory minicamp, according to ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime. Higgins made one-handed catches with starting cornerback Kamari Lassiter in coverage and also connected with quarterback C.J. Stroud on other plays. He will be pushing for a role in his first year in the NFL and could seal a starting spot by the second week of training camp this summer if he continues to play well. For being 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, the young pass-catcher and Iowa State product moves extremely well. Nico Collins is Houston's clear WR1, but Higgins has the potential and athleticism to surpass Christian Kirk as the team's WR2 sooner than later in 2025. In his final season at Iowa State, Higgins had 87, catches, 1,183 yards and nine TDs. He's worth a late-round flier in deeper single-league fantasy formats.