Will Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins earn his stripes this coming 2022 NFL season?

One of the league's top young wide receivers entering the 2022 season is Tee Higgins. Despite that, Higgins, a second-round pick from the 2020 draft, remains underappreciated compared to his contemporaries. In terms of overall points, he concluded 2021 as WR24, while in terms of points scored per game, he was WR11. He joins the Cincinnati Bengals offense in 2022 as their number two option as they attempt to bounce back from their Super Bowl defeat.

Last season, Tee Higgins participated in 14 games but missed three because of a persistent shoulder issue. In spite of that, with 74 receptions for 1,091 yards and six scores, he still had a successful season.

On the other hand, fellow wideout Ja'Marr Chase, the All-Pro Rookie of the Year, topped the Bengals in every receiving stat. Chase was mostly deployed as a deep threat, thus the extra emphasis on Chase coming into this season will only be beneficial to Higgins. Chase led the Bengals in every category, but overall Higgins was the more reliable receiver.

Both Higgins and Chase got the same number of targets during the games they participated in, but Higgins had a greater target rate per route run. Keep in mind that after Higgins returned from injury in weeks 5 through 17, he served as WR9.

Tee Higgins 2022 Fantasy Football Outlook

Due to the excitement surrounding Ja'Marr Chase following his record-breaking rookie season, Higgins starts the season as an obscure fantasy possibility once more.

Another essential component to Higgins' prospective fantasy value is Joe Burrow, the Bengals' star quarterback. Burrow was sacked 51 times last year, making him the most sacked quarterback in the NFL in 2021. That's important because it can impact the quality of the Bengals' passing game. They did try to improve their offensive line this coming season, though. This means the Bengals should have more high-quality passing attempts.

Even just adding a few extra attempts each game to that total might have a significant impact on both Burrow's fantasy value and the fantasy values of his receivers, including Higgins. Keep in mind that last season, Burrow threw the ball 35 or more times in six games. Higgins scored 19.4 fantasy points on average in those games. That would have put him at WR4 for the whole season. It would have also tied him with Justin Jefferson in terms of points scored per game.

Taking into account their upcoming schedule the Bengals will face the Cowboys, Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills, and Kansas City Chiefs. Those matchups ought to provide some high-scoring contests and enhance Higgins' targets.

As of now, Tee Higgins is projected to go as WR12 in the third round. Given some of the receivers that are moving ahead of him, this is now a fantastic value. Higgins is currently ranked 15 positions lower than CeeDee Lamb. Given that Higgins finished better than Lamb last season, getting Higgins one complete round later is a wonderful deal. Tee Higgins is a fantastic choice as a top receiver in the second or third round. Anyone who values selecting a strong wideout early in fantasy football drafts should have him in his radar.

Experts consider Higgins a strong bet to score close to or slightly more than 15 PPR points per game in 2022. That will keep him in the mix as a top-12 Fantasy wide receiver. Recall that he ranked among the top 10 wide receivers in terms of yards per target (9.9), yards per route run (2.26), and, probably most significantly, explosive play rate (25.5 percent).

Higgins should continue to be a reliable target for Joe Burrow. That's despite concerns about how many special games he'll have this season. This is especially true considering he averaged significantly more targets per game than Chase. As a result, the Bengals will have a solid Fantasy base of at least 13 PPR points in most weeks. There is also the possibility of more when the game turns into a shootout. In PPR leagues, that places Tee Higgins at Round 3. Meanwhile, in non-PPR leagues, it places him closer to early Round 4.