The talk of the 2025 NFL Draft class this offseason was less about which players are going to have the biggest impact and such and more about the second round picks. The majority of the second round picks in this last draft waited until the start of training camp before inking their rookie deals, citing more guaranteed money in their contracts.
Well a month into the season, it’s clear which players were worth the hassle and which ones hustled their respective teams into giving them more money than they deserved. Jayden Higgins and Tyler Shough are two that immediately come to mind.
Higgins has played in all four games to this point and has been a non-factor in the Houston Texans offense this season. As for Shough, in a miserable quarterback room he has yet to make a good enough impression to leapfrog Spencer Rattler as the starter. Let’s dive more into Higgins, Shough and the other second round selections that simply aren’t playing up to their contract’s worth.
Jayden Higgins, Houston Texans, Wide receiver
Higgins hasn’t quite found his role yet with the Texans, which is slightly alarming. I don’t know if that’s more on him, C.J. Stroud or a blend of both. Either way, when you yield the highest ever guaranteed contract for a player selected at No. 34 overall, the expectations are surmountable. The fact that Higgins has just five catches and less than 100 receiving yards, it’s proof he wasn’t worth taking that much of a gamble on.
To be fair, his rookie contract is four years and he’s just getting started. He could absolutely turn into a beast in this offense, but right now, he’s non-existent. Higgins had the perfect opportunity to get a bigger role with the Texans offense with Tank Dell still recovering from his injury from last season.
Higgins has yet to make that impact and the Texans desperately need another one of their receivers to step up alongside Nico Collins. Houston paid Higgins to be that player and he’s coming up well short of that. The next month of the season, he’ll be fighting “bust” allegations as he’s already looking like an overpaid receiver.
Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints, Quarterback
The biggest problem I have with Shough is that the Saints could have taken so many better quarterbacks than Shough with their second round pick and the fact that he hasn’t even played yet this season and lost the starting job to Rattler, that’s proof it was not worth giving him a fully guaranteed contract, worth nearly $11 million. For that type of money, he shouldn’t be losing out to a former fifth round pick.
Shough has to get some playing time at some point and only time will tell if he’s the long term answer for the Saints. But right now, they’re in the market for a quarterback, which means they don’t trust Shough to be their guy. Which begs the question of why they gave Shough so much guaranteed money.
T.J. Sanders, Buffalo Bills, Defensive lineman
The Buffalo Bills might be winning right now, but that doesn’t mean they wish some things would be different. One of those things is probably giving T.J. Sanders nearly 95 percent of his rookie contract guaranteed and he hasn’t done anything remotely close to earning that kind of money yet. In four games, Sanders has just two total tackles.
The Bills will probably overlook this for now because they’re winning and they don’t necessarily need him to have a massive impact for them right now. That said, he needs to play better if he wants to be a long term piece for the Bills.
Mason Taylor, New York Jets, Tight end
The New York Jets are in a whole heap of trouble. They’re winless through the first four games, their offensive identity is non-existent and while they feel like they may have put too much faith in Justin Fields, they may equally feel like they overpaid their rookie tight end. Taylor has just 11 catches and 108 receiving yards with no touchdowns this season. For context, he’s outside the top 100 for receiving yards and the 23rd most receiving yards for a tight end.
For most second round tight ends, that’s not a bad start to your NFL career, but when you signed a contract with all but nearly $1 million of your $10.5 million contract guaranteed, you’re expected to do more than middle of the back. Again, these may feel harsh, but second rounders went on a historic and unprecedented journey to nearly hold out to get more guaranteed money.
With it the expectations increase and put you under the same pressure as first round picks. This is the opposite of demanding more money. You don’t just collect a paycheck and move on, you get your dues and you prove it’s worth it.
Nick Emmanwori, Seattle Seahawks, Safety
I was really high on Nick Emmanwori so for him to get a fully guaranteed, $11.6 million rookie contract, I was interested to see just how important his impact would be. Well four games into his rookie season and he’s played in just one game and been ailing from an injury since. Hopefully he doesn’t become an injury liability, otherwise the Seahawks just might wish they didn’t make him the highest paid 35th overall player in NFL history.
I won’t bash Emmanwori too much simply because he hasn’t been healthy. That said, when he does come back from his injury, which could be this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he has a lot of expectations to uphold.
Alfred Collins, San Francisco 49ers, Defensive lineman
The San Francisco 49ers seemingly always have a good defense. Now that Nick Bosa is out, it adds pressure to everyone else on the defense, specifically the defensive line. Who better to be that important player in the pass rush other than Alfred Collins. They guaranteed him more than $9 million of his $10.3 million contract.
Well four games in, he looks less than ready to fill in on the defense. He has just three total tackles, including none in the last two games. Collins felt he was worth more guaranteed money, yet he hasn’t proven he’s worth it. There’s still time and it’s hard to have a massive impact on the game as an interior defensive lineman.
Collins will have a microscope on him this season. The 49ers need another player to be that impact defender for them with Bosa out on the defensive line and if he doesn’t step up, he’s going to prove he wasn’t worth all that guaranteed money.