Fun Fact: Over the final five weeks of 2019, Tyler Higbee was the No.1 scoring TE in fantasy football. He racked up 23.7 (TE1), 18.6 (TE5), 23.1 (TE3), 19.4 (TE7), and 22.4 (TE1) FPs across that stretch, averaging over 20 FPs per contest. The volume was particularly sexy, as Higbee hit 11+ targets in four of those five contests, racking up 100+ yards and/or a TD in all five games.
Based on Sean McVay’s comments at the NFL Combine, Higbee could be in line for a similar role for all of 2020, creating an enormous fantasy ceiling.
“He made a huge impact for us…it was great for Tyler to be able to get the opportunities and then be able to maximize that,” gushed McVay, “So we’ve got big plans for him… we think he’s got a very bright future.”
Granted, Higbee’s enormous spike came once Gerald Everett was removed from the lineup due to a Week 12 knee injury. Prior, Higbee hadn’t topped 63% of the Rams’ snaps, falling below 55% in six of eight games together.
After Everett’s injury, Higbee played 90% of the snaps in all five games, and the production followed: 56 targets (11.2 per), 43 receptions (8.6), 522 yards (104), and 2 TDs. This amounts to an absurd pace of 138 receptions (180 targets), 1664 yards, and 7 TDs.
Granted, with Everett and Brandin Cooks expected back at full health, Higbee won’t hit these lofty totals. Still, the breakout was no fluke, and McVay clearly took notice, particularly of how much Higbee helped Jared Goff improve:
“You could see, as Higbee’s production continued to just show up week in and week out… it’s not by coincidence that a lot of Jared’s really good play coincided with when Tyler ended up playing really well, starting with the first Arizona game and then leading into those last five games.”
Moreover, even with both Cooks and Everett in the lineup for Weeks 16 and 17, Higbee still played over 90% of the snaps and tallied 11 and 12 targets respectively. He’s the clear No.1 TE here, and is well-worth a Top-8 investment at the position. Higbee could truly reach the Kelce / Kittle tier if his late-season volume carries over.
