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When one thinks about breakout rookies on the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020 the conversation doesn’t often get past No. 1 pick Joe Burrow.
But Tee Higgins might need to be in the discussion too.
Cincinnati personnel didn’t think Higgins would be there at the top of Round 2, meaning the team got somebody it probably had a first-round grade on there.
And Bengals personnel also got a rave review on Higgins from T.J. Houshmandzadeh, so it’s easy to see why he might have the ability to come right in and have a massive impact.
Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com just raised another excellent point too:
“Put Higgins in there with two 1,000-yard receivers in Green and Boyd and, watch out. Look what a couple of second-round receivers did last year for play-off teams: Deebo Samuel averaged 14 yards per 57 catches for the 49ers and DK Metcalf scored seven TDs for Seattle on 58 catches at 15.5 yards per. Put numbers even close to that and this offense goes through the roof.”
Samuel in San Francisco was technically the third option behind George Kittle and Emmanuel Sanders, while Metcalf was probably considered a 1A with Tyler Lockett.
More to the point, Higgins might see the field plenty while defenses worry about A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd. If the Bengals get creative and/or swap one of those guys out, the speed of John Ross will keep defenses honest too.
Either way, it equates to a big chance at production for Higgins, whose most common pre-draft comp was A.J. Green himself. He doesn’t need a ton of help getting open nor a ton of space to make contested catches as it is — but the wealth of talent around him could lead to him putting up surprising numbers as a rookie.
And even away from the field, the situation looks excellent — A.J. Green has made it clear he wants to be a Chad Johnson-like mentor for Higgins.
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