We gotta go get him (Tee Higgins)

[Rob0729]

The entire skill position groups of my high school were faster than Tee Higgins. He barely topped 1000 yards twice when he stayed healthy. That’s a very good WR, it’s not a #1.

In his rookie season, Higgins was on pace to easily top 1,000 yards, but Joe Burrow tore his ACL on November 22 and he played sparingly in the last game. And he had Brandon Allen and Ryan Finley throwing to him for a 1/3 of the season. That was the only year he was the #1 WR for the Bengals. He still ended the season with 908 yards and 6 TDs which is pretty good for a rookie WR. Here is his game log.

Tee Higgins 2020 Stats per Game - NFL - ESPN

The 2020 NFL season stats per game for Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals on ESPN. Includes full stats, per opponent, for regular and postseason.

www.espn.com

In 2022, Chase was out injured for a month. He had two great games. He had 9 catches for 148 yards against a good Steelers defense and 7 catches for 114 yards and a TD vs. Tennessee. He one other good game and a not a great game. But he showed he could

 

[Huckleberry1]

Its cool that they are faster than Higgins. How many of them are in the NFL? If speed is what is needed, then why did those dumb mother ****ers get rid of Tyquan.

Because you also need to be able to run routes and catch the ball. The Patriots do need speed and should sign Brandin Cooks to get it. He’s an older player but still fast and productive. They can draft it as well.

 

[Wozzy]

I actually didn't think our disagreement was going to be quite so large but If you're comparing Higgins to Bourne then we are definitely not close to any agreement on this one.

The difference between their best season ever is what… 150 yards with Mac Jones throwing to him?

Is that worth #1 money?

 

[Wozzy]

In his rookie season, Higgins was on pace to easily top 1,000 yards, but Joe Burrow tore his ACL on November 22 and he played sparingly in the last game. And he had Brandon Allen and Ryan Finley throwing to him for a 1/3 of the season. That was the only year he was the #1 WR for the Bengals. He still ended the season with 908 yards and 6 TDs which is pretty good for a rookie WR. Here is his game log.

Tee Higgins 2020 Stats per Game - NFL - ESPN

The 2020 NFL season stats per game for Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals on ESPN. Includes full stats, per opponent, for regular and postseason.

www.espn.com

In 2022, Chase was out injured for a month. He had two great games. He had 9 catches for 148 yards against a good Steelers defense and 7 catches for 114 yards and a TD vs. Tennessee. He one other good game and a not a great game. But he showed he could

Sure, very good… like I said.

 

[signbabybrady]

The difference between their best season ever is what… 150 yards with Mac Jones throwing to him?

Is that worth #1 money?

If Bourne actually got those extra 150 yards and did it 3 or 4 more times then yes

 

[Wozzy]

If Bourne actually got those extra 150 yards and did it 3 or 4 more times then yes

Bourne had Mac Jones throwing to him. Higgins had Joe Burrow. Apples/oranges…

I don’t see why you’re confused. Is Higgins worth 30 million per season… I say no. That would be money better spent at offensive tackle or defensive line.

 

[Rob0729]

The difference between their best season ever is what… 150 yards with Mac Jones throwing to him?

Is that worth #1 money?

Bourne's best season ever was 800 yards when Mac Jones threw for 3,801 yards. Let's not pretend that the Mac Jones who finished his career with the Patriots was the same guy who played his rookie season. And for a wide receiver there is a huge difference between 800 and 1,091 yards.

I heard on the radio this morning, the six games where Chase was out and Higgins had to step into the starting role that he averaged 102 yards a game. That would be a 1734 yard season. I know it doesn't work out that way, but you are minimizing Higgins' ability.

Higgins is absolutely worth #1 money. He would easily be the #1 receiver on about 20 or more teams in this league. You can argue whether he is worth top receiver money that is likely to demand on the open market.

 

[Real fan 02]

If the Pats don’t land Tee Higgins, they could still land a younger, cheaper version and all it takes is drafting him. Tetairoa McMillan is a Tee Higgins clone.

I agree. Tee is going to go for the $$$ first, and then the situation, location. Just my opinions..

 

[Huckleberry1]

Bourne's best season ever was 800 yards when Mac Jones threw for 3,801 yards. Let's not pretend that the Mac Jones who finished his career with the Patriots was the same guy who played his rookie season. And for a wide receiver there is a huge difference between 800 and 1,091 yards.

I heard on the radio this morning, the six games where Chase was out and Higgins had to step into the starting role that he averaged 102 yards a game. That would be a 1734 yard season. I know it doesn't work out that way, but you are minimizing Higgins' ability.

Higgins is absolutely worth #1 money. He would easily be the #1 receiver on about 20 or more teams in this league. You can argue whether he is worth top receiver money that is likely to demand on the open market.

I don’t know if you are responding to me or someone else, but I’m not “ minimizing” his ability at all. Higgins is a very good WR2, and if they can get him for 25-27 million per I would be fine with it. He’s not a superstar #1 receiver who should get 30 Million +, and they would be making a mistake to pay him that.


Either way I’m not worried about it. I trust Vrabel and Co. completely, and I believe they will make good decisions in free agency. However I expect them to prioritize the OL and Defensive front 7 to the best of their ability in free agency, and I think they will manage the cap really well. If they decide to sign Higgins I’ll be rooting for him to succeed, I just think the $$$ people want to give him is out of whack with his actual production.

 

[Rob0729]

I don’t know if you are responding to me or someone else, but I’m not “ minimizing” his ability at all. Higgins is a very good WR2, and if they can get him for 25-27 million per I would be fine with it. He’s not a superstar #1 receiver who should get 30 Million +, and they would be making a mistake to pay him that.


Either way I’m not worried about it. I trust Vrabel and Co. completely, and I believe they will make good decisions in free agency. However I expect them to prioritize the OL and Defensive front 7 to the best of their ability in free agency, and I think they will manage the cap really well. If they decide to sign Higgins I’ll be rooting for him to succeed, I just think the $$$ people want to give him is out of whack with his actual production.

I was responding to Wozzy.

Higgins is an elite #2 WR who would be an above average #1 WR. Even missing five games this year, he got as many yards as the Bengals #2 WR as many #1 WRs on other teams.

I said you could make the argument about not paying him top dollar. But I don't care personally. Kraft and others say when you have a QB under a rookie deal, you can make moves and take advantage of the dollar savings. Even if they paid Higgins top dollar, it won't be remotely near top dollar by the time Maye is looking for a new deal. And the Pats have plenty of money to pay Higgins top dollar and still sign two or three other top free agents at other positions of need like OT or edge rusher.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I was responding to Wozzy.

Higgins is an elite #2 WR who would be an above average #1 WR. Even missing five games this year, he got as many yards as the Bengals #2 WR as many #1 WRs on other teams.

I said you could make the argument about not paying him top dollar. But I don't care personally. Kraft and others say when you have a QB under a rookie deal, you can make moves and take advantage of the dollar savings. Even if they paid Higgins top dollar, it won't be remotely near top dollar by the time Maye is looking for a new deal. And the Pats have plenty of money to pay Higgins top dollar and still sign two or three other top free agents at other positions of need like OT or edge rusher.

Like I said Rob, I’m fine with it either way. I trust Vrabel to build this team the right way, and if they decide that it’s best for Maye and the team to bring Higgins in I’ll be fine with that. And if they go heavy on the Ol and Defensive front 7, and then address the other needs I’ll be fine with that. IMO they already have the most important pieces for success in place, a franchise caliber QB and a Head Coach who is in charge of the football operations, who has a clear vision of the team he wants to build around that QB. I think Wolf’s decision to stay out of last year’s free agent market, instead of overspending for mediocre players is going to pay off big time for this free agent season, as this is a much stronger class, and they now have a clear direction they want to go in. I’m looking forward to all of it.

 

[signbabybrady]

Bourne had Mac Jones throwing to him. Higgins had Joe Burrow. Apples/oranges…

I don’t see why you’re confused. Is Higgins worth 30 million per season… I say no. That would be money better spent at offensive tackle or defensive line.

I think he is. And someones going to agree I really hope it's us.

 

[maust]

I don’t know if you are responding to me or someone else, but I’m not “ minimizing” his ability at all. Higgins is a very good WR2, and if they can get him for 25-27 million per I would be fine with it. He’s not a superstar #1 receiver who should get 30 Million +, and they would be making a mistake to pay him that.


Either way I’m not worried about it. I trust Vrabel and Co. completely, and I believe they will make good decisions in free agency. However I expect them to prioritize the OL and Defensive front 7 to the best of their ability in free agency, and I think they will manage the cap really well. If they decide to sign Higgins I’ll be rooting for him to succeed, I just think the $$$ people want to give him is out of whack with his actual production.

This is largely where I'm at with the idea of signing Higgins. I don't think he is an elite WR1 and I'm concerned with someone of his ability and injury history / availability issues using up $30M+ of the Pats cap allotment. I don't give a rat's ass about the cash, it's about the cap.

I too defer to the current brain trust to make the right decision, my confidence in the that regard is high. I have no doubt they will balance the risk/reward factors in all of their FA signings. They know their resources are finite and their roster holes are plentiful

 

[Huckleberry1]

This is largely where I'm at with the idea of signing Higgins. I don't think he is an elite WR1 and I'm concerned with someone of his ability and injury history / availability issues using up $30M+ of the Pats cap allotment. I don't give a rat's ass about the cash, it's about the cap.

I too defer to the current brain trust to make the right decision, my confidence in the that regard is high. I have no doubt they will balance the risk/reward factors in all of their FA signings. They know their resources are finite and their roster holes are plentiful

I agree. I don’t about Bob’s cash. He makes plenty from his Discount Furniture stores. I look at it more in terms of how many superstars you can pay 30 million plus to, and there’s only a few of those slots available. And if they use that money on Higgins how will they ever pay JayLynn Polk when the bill comes due?

 

[Zuma]

There won't be a boatload of FA's waiting to sign with the Pats. We're not going to have Cap issues mostly because we won't be able to sign more then a few top FA's. So they should overpay for whoever they think will help the team IMO.

 

[mike_usagisan]

There won't be a boatload of FA's waiting to sign with the Pats. We're not going to have Cap issues mostly because we won't be able to sign more then a few top FA's. So they should overpay for whoever they think will help the team IMO.

Agreed and we already paid most of our good players last year.

 

[PatsFan2]

The entire skill position groups of my high school were faster than Tee Higgins. He barely topped 1000 yards twice when he stayed healthy. That’s a very good WR, it’s not a #1.

 

[PatsFan2]

@Wozzy: You seem to forgot that Cincinnati had a very Good #3 WR Tyler Boyd who left in FA last year. Add all purpose RB Joe Mixon who left in FA24 too: I hope this clears it up for the naysayers. Now that I think about it Tee Higgins have a #1 Ceiling.

 

[dliverey44]

Bourne had Mac Jones throwing to him. Higgins had Joe Burrow. Apples/oranges…

I don’t see why you’re confused. Is Higgins worth 30 million per season… I say no. That would be money better spent at offensive tackle or defensive line.

I agree with this, but if they can get a good/solid LT then I am good if they want to overpay for Tee, but I would rather they bring in others to improve the entire roster especially with a defensive philosophy change.

 

[mike_usagisan]

I agree with this, but if they can get a good/solid LT then I am good if they want to overpay for Tee, but I would rather they bring in others to improve the entire roster especially with a defensive philosophy change.

I think they can do it all. There really aren’t that many blue chip talents in free agency. So a lot of the hole plugging is going to be a lot cheaper than whatever Tee gets.