Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Update: Tee Higgins, WR CIN

The NFL Draft is behind us, rookie drafts are taking place, and as dynasty owners, we are looking ahead to the upcoming season. In the Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Update series, we break down all the incoming fantasy-relevant rookies, looking at their profile and where they fit.

Name: Tee Higgins

Position: Wide receiver

Pro Team: Cincinnati Bengals

College Team: Clemson

Draft Status: Round two, 33rd overall

Video highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbORuDQ1Qho

Pro Day Review (Missed Combine)

• Height: 6’4”
• Weight: 215 lbs.
• Hands: 9 1/4”
• Wingspan: 81”
• 40-yard dash: 4.54 seconds
• Short Shuttle: 4.53 seconds
• Vertical jump: 31”
• Broad jump: 123”

Strengths

• Has the ability to play different wide receiver positions
• Long, lean frame and uses his big body to his advantage
• Great body control and balance
• Strong in jump-ball situations and on contested catches
• Good at deep ball tracking
• Natural hands catcher

Weaknesses

• Lacks top-end speed
• Isn’t overly athletic
• Lacks physicality against press coverage
• Could develop more as a route runner
• Change of direction can be slow

Opportunities

The Bengals selected Joe Burrow as their franchise quarterback with the first overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, and then took his running mate for the foreseeable future – Tee Higgins – in the early second.

AJ Green has been an elite receiver when healthy. Unfortunately however, the health part is more than a small concern these days. Tyler Boyd has emerged and really been a solid receiver for this team but it doesn’t feel like he has that star quality you’d want from your top receiver. The Bengals spent their ninth overall pick in 2017 on John Ross but that experiment seems to be coming to an end.

Higgins has the opportunity to get plenty of playing time this year and at this time, seems like the top target in 2021 and beyond.

Threats

One of the real threats I see is the possibility of not having camps – or having altered camps – which could hinder the relationship and connection between Burrow and Higgins.

The other concern is initially competing for targets with the other mouths to feed in this offense. The Bengals may want to utilize Joe Mixon and the ground game similar to how Todd Gurley was used when Zac Taylor was with the Los Angeles Rams.

This doesn’t mean that Higgins and the wide receiver group will not get a look-in, but we aren’t going to see Burrow’s record-breaking LSU offense of 2019 either. There may just not be enough to go around.

Short-term Expectations

Seeing as though we may not have rookie and mini camps, Higgins may not hit the field in week one as the starter. He will see the field though and I imagine that his snap percentage will increase as the season progresses.

Green and Boyd are locks for the starting lineup for now, and Auden Tate and Ross will still play. Higgins’ lack of production early on could provide a buy window for the owners who weren’t ready to play the waiting game.

Long-term Expectations

Looking ahead, I can imagine the majority of people saying: “I can’t believe we let Higgins fall to the middle of the second round in rookie drafts.” His landing spot was ideal for the patient dynasty player.

AJ Green’s future in Cincinnati could be very short and Higgins is set to be his replacement and a staple in your wide receiver spot on your dynasty roster. If this is indeed the case, he could develop into a solid fantasy WR2 with the potential to produce WR1 weeks from time to time.

I really like his floor with Burrow and this offense. Tyler Boyd emerged in 2018 even when Green was healthy and was actually scoring more fantasy points when Green was on the field with him. I envision this same scenario after Green’s departure when Higgins gets to step into an alpha role.

NFL Player Comparison

We’ve actually heard him being compared to AJ Green, which is fitting for obvious reasons.

I see a more refined and developed Preston Williams – to use a more recent comparison. Coincidentally, Williams received some comparisons to Green as well during the scouting process last off-season. Some people may take this as a knock on Higgins, but I think Williams could have been drafted on day two last year if it wasn’t for the off-field issues.

Both players were top ten recruits at their respective positions coming out of high school. Both have longer, leaner bodies but show fight at the point of the catch and athleticism running with the ball after the catch.

Projected rookie draft range

Currently, Higgins is being drafted as the 13th overall rookie – and the WR6 – in single-quarterback leagues based on the ADP data collected at Dynasty League Football.

Personally, the only wide receivers I’m drafting ahead of Higgins are CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, Jalen Reagor, and Justin Jefferson. However in some cases, Henry Ruggs, Michael Pittman, Denzel Mims or even Brandon Aiyuk may be selected ahead of Higgins and I’d be completely good with that.

In May startup ADP, Higgins is being taken as the WR31 right behind Boyd, Tyler Lockett, Robert Woods and Terry McLaurin. I think Higgins has more talent than all of those players but once again, it comes down to having the patience to wait on the production you are expecting from him.