Tag: Elijah Higgins

3 Cardinals rookies make their debut vs. Seahawks

Garrett Williams, Elijah Higgins and Clayton all made their NFL debut in Week 7 against the Seahawks.

The Arizona Cardinals lost on Sunday 20-10 on the road to the Seattle Seahawks. In the loss, rookie cornerback Garrett Williams made his NFL debut, playing for the first time since he tore his ACL in college last October.

He played pretty well.

However, he wasn’t the only Cardinals rookie to make his NFL debut.

Quarterback Clayton Tune and tight end Elijah Higgins also played in the NFL for the first time.

Williams finished with two tackles, an interception, which also counts as a pass breakup.

Tune played only one snap. It was a fake punt on special teams. He completed a four-yard pass. It was fourth-and-nine, so it was not successful.

Higgins was active for the first time this season and got to play on offense and special teams.

He logged seven special teams snaps and six on offense. He had his first NFL reception, although it was for zero yards.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Packers attempted to claim WR/TE Elijah Higgins off waivers

The Packers were one of five teams that attempted to claim Elijah Higgins off waivers on Wednesday. The 2023 sixth-round pick went to the Cardinals.

The Green Bay Packers were among five teams that attempted to claim wide receiver/tight end Elijah Higgins off waivers on Wednesday, per Field Yates of ESPN. Higgins, a rookie out of Stanford, was awarded to the Arizona Cardinals, who has the highest waiver claim priority based on 2022 record.

Higgins (6-3, 235) was a sixth-round pick of the Miami Dolphins. Given his athleticism and size, Higgins was in the middle of a transition from receiver to tight end when the Dolphins released him during final cuts.

At Stanford, Higgins caught 119 passes for 1,380 yards and six touchdowns. He was an All-Pac 12 pick in 2022 after hauling in 59 passes for 706 yards and two scores over 12 games.

Higgins, who participated at the Senior Bowl, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.54 seconds and had explosive jumping numbers at 235 pounds, suggesting he could make the transition to tight end (or H-back) at the professional level. It’s unclear if the Packers viewed him as a receiver or tight end prospect, but Higgins did match most of the measurables the team looks for at wide receiver.

While Higgins is headed to Arizona, store this information away should he ever become available to the Packers again.

Despite missing out on Higgins, the Packers were awarded rookie tight end Ben Sims off waivers fom the Minnesota Vikings.

Cardinals beat out many teams for TE Elijah Higgins

A total of five teams tried to claim Higgins, a sixth-round rookie the Dolphins cut this week.

The Arizona Cardinals acquired six players on Wednesday via waiver claims following final roster cuts across the entire NFL.

They have the No. 3 priority in the league for waiver claims, behind only the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans.

One of their waiver additions was tight end Elijah Higgins, cut by the Miami Dolphins. He is a rookie drafted in the sixth round this year.

The Cardinals beat out a lot of teams seeking Higgins.

According to ESPN’s Field Yates, he was the most sought-after player on waivers. Five total teams placed waiver claims for him. Along with the Cardinals, the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers.

He was one of only two players in the league to have more than two teams try and claim them.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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What to know about newly acquired TE Elijah Higgins

Higgins was drafted in the sixth round this year by the Miami Dolphins.

One of the six players the Arizona Cardinals acquired on Wednesday via a waiver claim was tight end Elijah Higgins.

What is there to know about the newest member of the Cardinals?

He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round this year out of Stanford.

He is small for a tight end at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds.

He played four seasons as a wide receiver at Stanford (2019-22) where he appeared in 40 games (23 starts) and had 119 receptions for 1,380 yards and six touchdowns.

He led the team last year with a career-high 704 receiving yards on 59 catches. He earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention for his season.

He has some speed, running the 40 in 4.54 seconds.

He had two catches in the preseason for 36 yards.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Dolphins officially sign three members of their 2023 draft class

Only one remains unsigned.

After getting some major cap relief ($13.6 million) on Thursday with the official release of cornerback Byron Jones, the Miami Dolphins immediately got back to work.

The team announced on Friday morning that they’ve officially signed three members of their 2023 draft class – running back De’Von Achane, tight end Elijah Higgins and offensive tackle Ryan Hayes.

This means that cornerback Cam Smith, the Dolphins’ top pick from the selection process, is the lone unsigned member of their class.

It’s unclear exactly what the terms of the rookie contracts are at this point, but we’ve done a breakdown of what the first-year players were expected to get in their first deals.

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Dolphins have no tight ends in PFF’s top-15 rankings for 2023

It’s not surprising, but some of the names that did make it are.

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With the NFL regular season still months away, all 32 teams, including the Miami Dolphins, are in the midst of their offseason training programs with organized team activities going on this week.

As players are trying to earn opportunities when the season does eventually arrive, outlets are comparing them to their counterparts and trying to determine who’s better.

Pro Football Focus’ John Kosko recently produced his list of the top 15 tight ends in the NFL, and the Dolphins didn’t have any representation.

Here was his list:

  • Travis Kelce
  • Mark Andrews
  • George Kittle
  • Dallas Goedert
  • T.J. Hockenson
  • Pat Freiermuth
  • Kyle Pitts
  • Dalton Schultz
  • Taysom Hill
  • David Njoku
  • Darren Waller
  • Dawson Knox
  • Chigoziem Okonkwo
  • Evan Engram
  • Gerald Everett

It’s not surprising that Miami didn’t have a tight end on the list, as it’s one of the weaker positions on their roster currently. Durham Smythe tops the depth chart, and while he technically led the team’s tight end room in snaps last season, it was pretty obvious that Mike Gesicki was the top guy.

This offseason, Gesicki (interestingly left off the list) moved on, signing with the New England Patriots. The Dolphins also traded Hunter Long to the Los Angeles Rams, cut Cethan Carter and decided not to re-sign Adam Shaheen.

Instead, joining Smythe and 2022 undrafted free agent Tanner Conner in the room are two veterans (Eric Saubert and Tyler Kroft) and two rookies (Elijah Higgin and Julian Hill).

If any of them were to rise up and make this list next year, it would probably be Smythe, and that’s not out of the question considering Taysom Hill’s appearance so high on this list.

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Projected rookie contracts for each of the Dolphins’ 2023 draft picks

What type of money will the first-year players be making?

The Miami Dolphins made just four selections in the 2023 NFL draft, as they made no trades for the second year in a row.

In today’s NFL, rookie contracts are essentially slotted, deciding value by where a player is drafted. Deals for selected rookies are for four years with first-round picks given a team option for a fifth year.

Despite the draft having concluded a month ago, none of Miami’s four drafted rookies have officially signed their contracts. However, Spotrac has projected deals for each member of the Dolphins’ 2023 class.

Dolphins’ draft class ranked one of the worst in 2023

There was a pick stripped and only four picks made, so that definitely affects things.

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The Miami Dolphins entered the 2023 NFL draft with just four selections due to tampering violations as well as multiple trades made by general manager Chris Grier.

While Grier has been known to make moves, he completed the three-day event without making a trade for the second year in a row.

Miami stayed put and made all four selections, drafting South Carolina cornerback Cam Smith, Texas A&M running back De’Von Achane, Stanford wide receiver/tight end Elijah Higgins and Michigan offensive tackle Ryan Hayes.

Following the draft, Twitter user René Bugner compiled grades from 29 evaluations of 2023 NFL draft classes, and the Dolphins were ranked No. 29 in the league.

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar broke down the rankings a bit further. Here’s what he wrote about Miami’s four rookies:

“Losing your first-round pick because you were messing around with Tom Brady is automatically going to sink your overall draft grade, and with just four picks overall, the Dolphins don’t have a lot here. However, I’m fully on board with their first two selections. Cam Smith is an NFL-ready cornerback who is just as good in off-coverage as he is in press; he does everything well with no real liabilities. And for a team that under head coach Mike McDaniel wants to put a track team on the field on offense, Devon Achane is a literal perfect fit, as his track background shows up all over the field. He will be quite fun to watch in that offense. Achane ran a 4.32 40-yard dash at the combine, and last season, 18 of his 196 rushing attempts went for 15 or more yards. And Ryan Hayes could break through in Miami’s iffy line — last season, he allowed no sacks and 11 total pressures in 357 pass-blocking reps.

Elijah Higgins is a huge (6-foot-3, 235-pound) receiver who isn’t an obvious deep receiver, but the Dolphins already have enough of those guys, and this is a good change of pace. Not a bad draft for the Dolphins; you would have liked to see more of it, is all.”

The overall sentiment makes sense. Miami should’ve had more draft picks and losing one for no gain hurts. They could’ve added another talented rookie to this group, maybe the most talented of them, considering it was a first-round pick that was taken.

The players that they drafted aren’t poor talents, but they could’ve added more to a roster that seems to be ready to contend.

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Dolphins rookie TE Elijah Higgins watching George Kittle tape to improve

Mike Gesicki did the same thing last year.

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Miami Dolphins sixth-round pick Elijah Higgins is taking part in the team’s rookie minicamp, along with the three other selected rookies, 21 undrafted free agents and a number of players who received tryouts.

As the former Stanford Cardinal makes his transition to the NFL game, he’s also switching positions, moving from wide receiver to tight end for the Dolphins, something that most teams talked to him about prior to the draft.

With that comes a lot of work with Miami’s tight end coach Jon Embree, who has had a long career of getting the most out of his players at the position. In his previous stops, he’s worked with Tony Gonzalez, Chris Cooley, Fred Davis, Jordan Cameron, Cameron Brate and George Kittle.

Since following Mike McDaniel to South Florida from San Francisco, Embree has had some tough projects to work on. In 2022, he was tasked with getting Mike Gesicki to fit to the system as well as help Tanner Conner transition from college wide receiver to NFL tight end.

While Gesicki never truly did fit McDaniel’s scheme last year, Embree spent a lot of time showing the Penn State product film of Kittle during their time together with the 49ers, and now, Higgins is getting that same treatment.

Not everyone can be Kittle, that’s something that everyone should understand, but there are definitely things that Higgins can learn from watching his tape and asking questions from the coach who helped him develop into the player that he is today.

Dolphins fans will just have to hope he can adjust more than Gesicki was able to.

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3 takeaways from the Dolphins’ 2023 draft class

What we learned from the draft.

The 2023 NFL draft has concluded after seven rounds and 259 players selected. The Miami Dolphins had four picks this year, selecting three players on offense and one on defense.

With a limited number of picks, general manager Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel had to be precise on who they chose to draft. Deciding who to draft often comes down to whether or not a team views themselves as a contender.

Miami has made it no secret their goal is to win now, and it appears they did a good job selecting players for the near future.

Here are three main takeaways from the Dolphins’ 2023 draft class: