Iowa Hawkeyes Star Continues to Be Linked to Packers

Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Jay Higgins is one of the most intriguing defenders heading into the 2025 NFL Draft.

Higgins was dominant over his last couple of seasons at Iowa, but due to his physical limitations, many are projecting him to be a mid-to-late round pick.

However, there is one team that continues surfacing as a potential landing spot for Higgins in April: the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers are in need of some help in their linebacking corps, so it should come as no surprise that many feel they could represent a perfect destination for the Hawkeyes star.

Pro Football Network recently posted its latest seven-round mock draft, and it is projecting Higgins to fall to Green Bay in the fifth round.

Would Higgins last that long? That's the question.

While the 6-foot-2, 232-pound defender may not possess the archetype of an elite NFL linebacker, his ridiculously high motor, terrific football IQ and nose for the ball should make him a very popular sleeper in the coming months.

Higgins is coming off of a 2024 campaign in which he rattled off 124 tackles, a sack, four interceptions, a couple of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery en route to winning the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year award in the BIg Ten.

The year prior, the 22-year-old racked up 171 tackles, a pair of sacks, a pick, a forced fumble and teo fumble recoveries.

Higgins will undoubtedly hear his name called this spring, and it's looking more and more like the Packers could be the team that gives him a shot.