Iowa State with three selected in latest NFL Mock Draft by ESPN

Jayden Higgins, two others go early in latest NFL Mock Draft from ESPN
Jayden Higgins is expected to be an early NFL Draft selection.
Jayden Higgins is expected to be an early NFL Draft selection. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates came together recently for a three-round NFL Mock Draft. During the process, the two alternated making picks throughout, with three former Iowa State players going in the selection process.

Jayden Higgins, Darien Porter and Jaylin Noel all hear their names come off the board before the end of the second round, with Yates tabbing two of the Cyclones and Kiper the other.

Yates selects Higgins to the wide receiver-starved Tennessee Titans at pick No. 35 of the second round. He goes right before former Missouri standout Luther Burden III, who at one time was a potential first round pick.

“The Titans got Cam Ward (earlier in the mock draft),” Yates wrote. “Now they must provide him with some legit playmakers beyond Calvin Ridley. Higgins could bring size, speed and versatility outside.”

Porter, meanwhile, goes at pick No. 53 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Yates making the selection.

“Tampa Bay’s secondary overhaul could keep rolling with Porter, who has great 6-foot-3 size and 4.3 speed,” Yates wrote. “The former receiver is still developing in his new position, but he has the traits to become a difference-maker there.”

With the very next pick, Kiper grabs Noel to the Green Bay Packers. 

“Noel has the hands to haul in tough catches and the elusiveness to tack on yards after the catch,” Kiper wrote. “Green Bay has historically waited until Day 2 to add receivers, and there are some good ones in this range.”

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Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in north-central Iowa.

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