Who Should I Start? Tre Tucker or Jayden Higgins

Saturday, February 14, 9:29 AM

Las Vegas wide receiver Tre Tucker has seen his average depth of target drop precipitously through each of his first three seasons in the league, leaving many questioning whether the Raiders have truly taken advantage of his 4.4 speed. With incoming head coach Klint Kubiak coming off a Super Bowl season with Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, he'll need to rely more on scheme than personnel if he hopes to succeed in his early days in Las Vegas. Kubiak employed rookie Tory Horton sparingly but effectively as a downfield weapon in Seattle, but he was not able to strike the same chord with fellow speedster Rashid Shaheed following a midseason trade. The Raiders offense will presumably run through tight end Brock Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty, but Tucker still profiles as Vegas' de facto number one receiver. Hints of how Kubiak elects to use him should come as early as free agency and the draft, but Tucker will be an intriguing name to monitor heading into 2026 training camps.

Wednesday, February 4, 4:17 PM

The Houston Texans selected wide receiver Jayden Higgins in the second round in 2025 out of Iowa State, and he finished his rookie season in the NFL with 41 receptions on 68 targets for 525 yards and six touchdowns in 17 regular-season contests. Higgins was the Texans' third leading receiver behind Nico Collins and tight end Dalton Schultz. In the team's two playoff games, the 23-year-old caught nine of his 14 targets for 98 yards. Higgins' success going forward will be tied to whether quarterback C.J. Stroud can bounce back following a couple of disappointing campaigns after his outstanding rookie year, but either way, he should be Houston's No. 2 behind Collins with Christian Kirk hitting free agency this March. Higgins has the size (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) and speed to take a big step forward with more targets in his sophomore season.