Fantasy Football Player Notes

Higgins joined the starting lineup in Week 3 and played with Joe Burrow through Week 10 in seven full games. He was the WR11 during that time, so a WR1 despite A.J. Green getting tons of work and Tyler Boyd being a big presence. It was a phenomenal start to Higgins' career, and while I loved him as a low-end WR1/high-end WR2 this year, the pick of Ja'Marr Chase at No. 5 overall derailed that excitement. Chase is going to walk in and demand a large chunk of targets right away, as Burrow told the front office that he wanted Chase over Penei Sewell, the stud left tackle. This doesn't mean Higgins is going to go away - he won't. However, it does limit his target ceiling and lowers expectations. He should be valued as a low-end WR2/high-end WR3 with Chase in the picture.

Since Zac Taylor took over as the head coach, Boyd has played a big role in the offense, though it diminished a tad last year once we saw Tee Higgins carve out a bigger role. Still, he saw 110 targets and finished as the WR35 in half PPR formats. Onto the next obstacle. Ja'Marr Chase is going to be a real thorn in Boyd's side when it comes to volume, as he'll demand more than A.J. Green received last year. All three of the Bengals receivers saw 100-plus targets last year, so it's not like Boyd is going to simply fade away, but he's lost a ton of his upside as the No. 3 option.

If you follow college football and/or the NFL Draft, you know that Chase was a superior prospect to Tee Higgins. What we saw Higgins do as a rookie with Joe Burrow was impressive, as he was the WR11 during the eight full games they played together. Keep in mind that was with zero chemistry. Now you insert Chase into the offense, who already has chemistry with Burrow, as they set records at LSU together, and what do we get? I'll acknowledge that Higgins is going to cap Chase's ceiling and that he may not get to top-12 production, but you don't draft Chase at No. 5 overall (over an elite offensive tackle) if you're not going to highlight him in the offense immediately. Heck, even A.J. Green, who averaged 5.0 yards per target, saw 104 targets in this offense last year. Chase should be a WR2 right out of the gate.