I'm a big fan of drafting ascending #2 WRs. Last summer, Wan'Dale Robinson was one of the biggest WR bargains in my rankings, placing him 79 spots ahead of his overall-183 ADP and snagging him at pick #137. The summer before that, I had Jameson Williams 27 spots ahead of his overall-119 ADP, thought about taking him at the 98-99 turn, went with Courtland Sutton and Brian Thomas Jr. instead, and then somehow got Williams at #127.
Last year, five #2 WRs finished in the top 20. Seven were in the top 25. Some are weekly starters regardless of what happens to the #1's. Others break out because of injuries to the #1's. Either way, the market frequently undervalues up-and-coming #2's.
Jayden Higgins is on the brink of becoming one of my favorite ascending #2's -- a must-draft wideout whose overall-133 / WR53 ADP is reminiscent of 2025's Wan'Dale Robinson and 2024's Jameson Williams. I say "on the brink" because a lot hinges on Tank Dell's health, and a little hinges on Jaylin Noel's development.
For the latter, Higgins seems to be comfortably ahead of his fellow 2025 rookie on the depth chart. Houston drafted Higgins with the second pick in the second round of last year's draft. He and Noel (a third-round pick last year) dominated as teammates at Iowa State for two years. Higgins played ahead of him on the depth chart as rookies last season. That should continue this season, though Noel (overall-283 / WR95 ADP) is a pretty solid bet to exceed expectations.
For the former, Dell's recovery has huge fantasy implications -- much larger, I believe, than the fantasy market is factoring in. Dell's overall-181 / WR67 ADP assumes he'll be starting much of the season. I'm increasingly doubtful. Yesterday he wouldn't say if he'd be ready Week 1. Head coach DeMeco Ryans has been similarly non-committal. Dell hasn't played in nearly 20 months. In addition to not knowing when he'll return, we also don't know whether he'll pick up where he left off as a former "ascending #2 WR."
A lot has to go right for Dell to recapture at least some of the magic of pre-injury glory, including starting the season ahead of Higgins. That seems unreasonable at the moment. And the Texans can afford to remain patient with Dell, thanks to a deep receiving corps that includes former sixth-rounder Xavier Hutchinson.
A "deep" receiving corps isn't the same as a "crowded" one. Houston has the luxury of taking a "next-man-up" approach if a starter gets hurt. But if Higgins looks poised to start the season as the #2, then I believe he'll be in line for full-season #2 numbers. In other words, I don't see him relinquishing that role to an eventually returning Dell.
Also, since entering the league, perennial #1 Nico Collins has missed 19 of his team's 85 games (22%). That's not an insignificant stat. Higgins scored in each game Collins missed last year. There's a reasonable chance that Higgins could serve as the #1 WR multiple times, and there's also a reasonable chance that he could outperform a healthy Collins multiple times.
Finally, as always, total numbers don't tell the whole story. Higgins was last year's overall WR47 and only the WR62 in points per game. I believe that's one reason why he's ranked outside the top 50 wideouts. But keep in mind that he saw only 13 targets in his first six NFL games. Rookie ramp-ups often skew their values. He had 102.4 points in his final 11 games (9.3 points per game), which would have made him the WR51 in points per game. Stretched over 17 games, those 102.4 points would have translated into 158.3, which would have made him the WR39.
Dell has been -- and remains -- the wild card. But more and more, I'm buying into Higgins' breakout potential as Houston's increasingly likely #2 WR.