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The Cincinnati Bengals surprised some when they went with Clemson wideout Tee Higgins to start the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.
That included Bengals personnel who appeared to have a first-round grade on Higgins.
According to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com, the Bengals figured Higgins would be off the board in the first round. Chad Johnson, for what it’s worth, was mad Higgins wasn’t a first-rounder…until he joined the Bengals.
Hobson followed up in a different story by revealing the Bengals decided to turn down offers, stick and take Higgins:
“The Bengals hung with that first pick in the second round to take Higgins despite getting some offers to trade back. But the guess here is that they couldn’t get within picks 37 or 38. They weren’t going back farther than that. And it probably means they had Higgins going in the first round.”
This was easy read-between-the-lines material but it’s nice to have confirmation. Cincinnati’s front office might’ve had flashbacks to the prior year when they traded too far back and had to settle for tight end Drew Sample.
It sure helps a prospect like Higgins was on the board though. The wideout who models his game after A.J. Green has No. 1 wideout potential and it certainly helps that he’s landing in such a great spot. He’ll learn from Green and Tyler Boyd while working in the same offense as the space-creating duo of John Ross and Joe Mixon, all while catching passes from Joe Burrow.
Before long, we could see why the Bengals felt like they had to stand still and grab Higgins.
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