Thanks to the Laremy Tunsil trade one season ago, the Houston Texans don’t exactly have the best draft capital heading into 2020. The team currently has just two picks in the top 100, and three in the first four rounds. With draft capital like this, it’s going to be important for Houston to hit on as many mid- to late-round picks as possible. With that in mind, the team could pursue somebody like Boise State’s John Hightower in the fourth round.
John Hightower 2020 NFL Draft Profile
Houston Texans 2020 NFL Draft Targets: John Hightower
The Houston Texans have something of a hole at wide receiver. DeAndre Hopkins is over in Arizona, Will Fuller struggles to stay healthy, and Kenny Stills is nothing more than a solid role player. Hightower is no superstar, but the Texans could go all-in on the vertical passing game by taking him in the fourth round.
The first thing that jumps off the tape with Hightower is his impressive speed and ability to stretch the field. He’s no Henry Ruggs, but he still has the speed required to take the top off the defense. At the NFL Combine, Hightower ran an impressive 4.43 40-yard dash, good enough to land in the 73rd percentile. This is obviously a great time, but the film suggests he might be even faster than his testing numbers.
Hightower is capable of doing more than just running fast in a straight line. The Boise State product knows how to vary his speed, lull defenders to sleep, and use his extra burst at the right time. While he’s at his best when he’s hit in stride, he has the catch radius to adjust and haul in off-target passes. Additionally, he’s dangerous with the ball in his hands and can be a dangerous threat in the screen game. This speed also translates to end-arounds and gadget plays. Essentially, if you can scheme him into the open field, he’s going to be dangerous.
Weaknesses
Even with his speed, there is a reason that most draft analysts expect Hightower to be available in the fourth round. While he has the ability to make plays in the deep part of the field, he’s anything but a well-rounded receiver. His route running needs a lot of refinement and he loses a lot of speed when trying to make cuts on out routes and when sharply going over the middle.
Hightower has a nice catch radius on open targets, but he struggles to outmuscle defenders in contested catch situations. He could probably stand to add more muscle at the NFL level, as he also struggles to win when lined up against press coverage. A minor concern is that he didn’t exactly face the toughest competition in college, yet struggled to dominate against said defenders.
Ultimately, Hightower is a limited player with a specialized skill set tailor-made for Houston’s offense. Fuller and Stills both have the speed to take the top off the defense, and combining them with Hightower should give Houston one of the most dangerous deep passing attacks in the league. At worst, Hightower can serve as emergency depth if Fuller gets hurt again. However, in an ideal world, all three will see the field to form one of the most explosive downfield offenses in football while still using their first two picks to address other areas of need.
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