Wide receiver Tee Higgins is entering year two with the Cincinnati Bengals and head coach Zac Taylor is “really excited to see what’s in store” for the former Clemson receiver. During his press conference on Tuesday, Taylor was asked about Higgins and mentioned that the “switch kind of flipped for him” in the second half of the 2020 season.
Higgins was a second-round pick out of Clemson last year and looked great for the Bengals, hauling in 67 receptions for 908 yards and six touchdowns. Taylor mentioned that Higgins, like the rest of the NFL rookies and younger players, was entering the 2020 season without a traditional offseason. This made the transition into the NFL much more difficult than in typical years.
Not only that, but Higgins battled injuries early in the season and that led to a slow start for the rookie. He caught fire in Week 6 against the Colts, grabbing six catches for 125 yards and took off running for the rest of the season.
Zac Taylor can’t wait to see what Tee Higgins can do in his second year with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bengals were already in a good spot moving forward with Higgins and Tyler Boyd as their receivers but they added to that duo by taking Ja’Marr Chase with the No. 5 overall pick. While this could take targets away from Higgins, it’s also possible that the addition of Chase opens things up for Higgins to have huge games every now and then.
Higgins also spoke to the media on Tuesday and liked what he saw from Joe Burrow. He also noted that he’s focused on improving in the deep ball aspect of the game, per Marisa Contipelli’s tweet below. The Bengals practiced throwing deep passes in Tuesday’s practice and this is hopefully going to be their bread and butter during the course of the season (and with these kinds of weapons — How can it not be?).
Tee Higgins asked about the much talked about extra zip on Joe Burrow’s passes: “He threw me a slant and I was like, ‘oh s***.’” #Bengals
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) June 8, 2021
Tee Higgins said he's really focused on capitalizing on deep balls and improving that aspect of his game. One area is making sure he's not showing his hands too early.
— Marisa Contipelli (@BengalsMarisa) June 8, 2021
The Bengals drafted Burrow in the first round last year and Higgins in the second with the idea that they’d become one of the most explosive QB-WR tandems in the league. With Chase in Cincinnati now, Higgins might not be the WR1, but he’s still going to eat plenty in this offense.
Zac Taylor isn’t the only one who’s excited to watch Tee Higgins this year, as it’s hard not to be excited about the former second-round pick and what season two could look like for him.