John Hightower in the NFL
In the NFL. Photo: All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Receiver, Boise State, 2016–⁠19

John Hightower

Number
No. 16
Height
6′2″
Weight
172 lb
Class (2019)
Senior
Hometown
Landover, MD
Born
May 31, 1996, in Landover, Maryland

Wikipedia readers: about 416 a month over the past year

John Hightower played receiver at Boise State (2016–⁠19). The Philadelphia Eagles took Hightower in round 5, No. 168 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
943
Receiving yards, 2019 (Boise State, 12–⁠2)
Drafted
No. 168
Round 5, 2020 NFL Draft (Philadelphia Eagles)

Career highs

90rushing yards, career highat Nevada, 20188catches, career highat Air Force, 2018182receiving yards, career highat Air Force, 20183receiving touchdowns, career highat Air Force, 2018

Team titles: Mountain West champions, 2017 and 2019

Receiving

Receiving yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2018Boise State3150416.3667
2019Boise State5194318.5876
Career821,44717.61476

Returns

SeasonTeamKRYdsTDPRYdsTD
2018Boise State101010120
2019Boise State266391–––
Career367401120

Rushing

SeasonTeamCarYdsAvgTDLong
2018Boise State816320.4288
2019Boise State151399.3035
Career2330213.1288

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosClassHtWt
2016Boise State16WRFr.
2017Boise State16WRSo.
2018Boise State16WRJr.
2019Boise State16WRSr.6′2″172

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsage
2018Boise State530.7580th (n=497)0.5339.88%
2019Boise State1070.4229th (n=499)0.5445.011%

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2019 Boise State 14 games, 51 catches, 943 yards, 8 TD
DateOpponentResultRecRec ydsRec TDKRYdsPR
Aug 31atFlorida StateW 36–⁠312250120–
Sep 6vs.MarshallW 14–⁠72461266–
Sep 14vs.Portland StateW 45–⁠104791198–
Sep 20vs.Air ForceW 30–⁠195480233–
Oct 5atUNLVW 38–⁠1341051120–
Oct 12vs.Hawai’iW 59–⁠3771412134–
Oct 19atBYUL 25–⁠282110591–
Nov 2atSan José StateW 52–⁠4251290–––
Nov 9vs.WyomingW 20–⁠172460361–
Nov 16vs.New MexicoW 42–⁠941241232–
Nov 23atUtah StateW 56–⁠213561–––
Nov 29atColorado StateW 31–⁠245490378–
Dec 7vs.Hawai’iW 31–⁠103641–––
Dec 21 ✦vs.WashingtonL 7–⁠3832005106–
2018 Boise State 9 games, 31 catches, 504 yards, 6 TD
DateOpponentResultRecRec ydsRec TDKRYdsPR
Sep 1atTroyW 56–⁠202150–––
Sep 8vs.UConnW 62–⁠751191–––
Sep 15atOklahoma StateL 21–⁠443441119–
Sep 29atWyomingW 34–⁠1447911181
Oct 6vs.San Diego StateL 13–⁠194270126–
Oct 13atNevadaW 31–⁠2732203−28–
Oct 27atAir ForceW 48–⁠3881823241–
Nov 3vs.BYUW 21–⁠16180225–
Dec 1vs.Fresno StateL 16–⁠19180–––

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillCombine 2020
Height6′1½″
Weight189 lb
Arm length31½″
Hand size9¾″
Wingspan75⅛″W
40-yard dash4.43 s
10-yard split1.49 sW
Vertical jump38½″
Broad jump10′2″
3-cone drill7.07 s
20-yard shuttle4.21 s

Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

2 seasons, 11 games with a stat; latest team: Los Angeles Chargers.

SeasonTeamGRecYdsTD
2020Philadelphia Eagles10101670
2021Philadelphia Eagles1000
NFL career11101670

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.

Other pro football

YearsLeagueTeam
2024UFLDC Defenders *
2024UFLMichigan Panthers

Leagues other than the NFL, from the infobox of his Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA), as it names the teams. * Off-season roster or practice squad only.

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