The NFL trade deadline is fast on approach, so it’s the time of year experts step back and analyze the rosters of each team.
One of the more interesting topics for the Cincinnati Bengals is wide receiver Tee Higgins, at least in the sense of his actual trade value, not whether the team would actually move him (they won’t).
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell did this for each team recently and jotted down his thoughts about Higgins:
One first-round pick: WR Tee Higgins. Higgins is capable of taking over games, but it’s tougher to make a case that he’s a top-10 player at wide receiver than it is for someone like A.J. Brown. Higgins’ production is capped by Chase playing on the other side of the field, but it also likely leads to easier coverage looks and fewer double-teams. He is also a free agent after the season, so he’s about to get expensive. I still think he would land a first-rounder, but there’s a much bigger gap between Higgins and Chase’s trade value than it might seem.
Both can be true — Higgins puts up great numbers but also sits an offense with Ja’Marr Chase, which helps.
Either way, even the fact Higgins has had a brutally slow start to his contract year — even before suffering the fractured rib — won’t stop him from getting a top-flight contract in free agency next summer, whether it’s from the Bengals or another team.
That value and fit in the offense, of course, is why the Bengals will also undoubtedly consider something like a franchise tag if and when things get to that point, too.
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