Cincinnati Bengals: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 8 vs. Jets

Start ‘Em – Tee Higgins

Tee Higgins has been off as of late. I’ve had a difficult time getting a feel for how he will perform on a week to week basis. Odd because in 2020 Higgins was consistently the best receiver the Bengals had.

Cue 2021, and Higgins has taken a clear back seat to Ja’Marr Chase, and rightfully so. Chase is a baller who is virtually uncoverable. However that doesn’t mean Higgins doesn’t have value. In fact if the Bengals are going to make a serious playoff push, Tee Higgins is going to have to be a big part of it.

It’s my feeling that this started in Week 7 versus Baltimore. Higgins was far and away the target leader on the offense with a whopping 15. Kids, that’s an elite level target share. Burrow only managed to connect on seven of those targets for 62 yards, not a bad stat line, but 15 targets should merit higher output.

Watching and rewatching the game I noted that Burrow tended to sail a couple of his throws high and outside, and at least once the two appeared to be on a completely different page. These are all fixable issues that will be remedied with reps.

Remember Higgins doesn’t have the luxury of knowing Burrow from college and having an instant rapport like Chase does. That being said, in a game that projects to have fewer points scored, my feeling is Burrow will continue to iron out the chemistry issues with Higgins and feed him targets like a hungry baby.

Roll him out as a WR 3 with upside.

Prediction: 8 rec, 90 yards, 1 TD