RADIO
Tyler Higbee 2020 Player Outlook: A Late Bloomer With High Upside
5 years agoTyler Higbee erupted out of nowhere during the final five games of 2019. The fourth-year tight end piled up 43 catches, 522 yards, and two touchdowns to close out the season, averaging over eight receptions and 100 yards per game. He was the number one tight end in any scoring format during that stretch and had five more points-per-game than the next highest TE in PPR. Higbee buried Gerald Everett in the Rams' tight end hierarchy and will be a sure-fire TE1 if he can produce even at 75% of that level. Those who draft Higbee should be cautiously optimistic about it happening: the Rams began to shift towards more tight end-focused personnel during that stretch, and that should continue to increase heading into 2020 with Brandin Cooks out of the picture. The upside is high enough to warrant his consensus ranking at TE8. Los Angeles has invested financially in him, and he's developed a great rapport with Jared Goff. Just don't forget that this is a guy who had five of his six best games ever during the final five games of last year and only averaged 19 yards per game during his previous 42 games under Sean McVay. There's a bit of risk here, but the potential reward makes drafting Higbee worth a shot.
