Tee Higgins Is Dominating Down The Stretch For The Cincinnati Bengals

Sophomore WR Tee Higgins has played his best football late in the year, which has helped fuel the Cincinnati Bengals playoff push.

Clemson wide receiver Tee Higgins was left off the top tier of a lot of receiver rankings in the 2020 NFL Draft, especially with how he wins. He was primarily a catch point winner, who won with his frame and a large catch radius. Without much to be a true separator as a route runner and poor testing, he fell to day two, only to be scooped up by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Higgins became a reliable target for rookie quarterback Joe Burrow, and stayed productive after Burrow went down with an injury. He came up just shy of the 1,000-yard mark, catching 67 passes for 908 yards and and six touchdowns in 2020.

Things were pretty pedestrian for Higgins to start off year two, mostly due to the Bengals selecting Ja’Marr Chase in the top five of the 2021 draft to help out Burrow even more in the passing game. However, Higgins has caught fire since Thanksgiving, registering four 100-yard games in the process and scoring four touchdowns in the five-game stretch.

On Sunday in their big win over Baltimore, Higgins led everyone with 12 catches for 194 yards and two scores. He dominated at the catch point but was especially important on dig routes, thriving in the intermediate area of the field and becoming a chain-mover for the offense. He made an impressive catch in double coverage to set the Bengals up nicely in the red zone, and stayed slippery after the catch to pick up extra yardage.

While it’s fair to give Chase plenty of headlines, the breakout of Tee Higgins at the end of year two is huge for the Cincinnati Bengals. Higgins beginning to win more with his size, hands, and frame to all levels is an important jump to make. That makes the Bengals passing offense, featuring those two plus Tyler Boyd, a dangerous trio for AFC teams to handle in the playoffs.