Tyler Higbee: Limited in return to practice

See where Tyler Higbee lined up on the field and how he performed at each spot.

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Higbee has been consistent on a yearly basis, finishing with between 521 and 734 yards the past four seasons while scoring three to five touchdowns each year. He set career highs in targets (108) and catches (72) last season but averaged only 8.6 yards per reception as one of the few pass catchers that managed to stay healthy for a battered Rams offense. The 2022 campaign highlighted an underrated trait of the 30-year-old tight end – availability; Higbee has played at least 15 games in each of his seven NFL seasons. With quarterback Matthew Stafford (neck) and star wide receiver Cooper Kupp (ankle) both expected to return healthy this year, Higbee may end up trading quantity of targets for quality.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford’s arrival was a huge boost for the Rams offense last season, as Los Angeles averaged 27.1 points per game in 2021 after scoring 23.3 in 2020. The upgrade under center was less impactful for Higbee, though. He tied his career high with five touchdowns, but his 61 catches, 560 yards and 85 targets fell short of his career highs from 2019. Higbee’s a savvy veteran who knows how to get open against zone defenses and move the chains, but 9.2 yards per reception last season was his lowest average since his rookie year in 2016, as his aDOT fell to 5.3 after a career-high 8.0 in 2020. While Higbee could see a few more looks this year, Cooper Kupp remains the unquestioned top target in the passing game with offseason wide-receiver addition Allen Robinson the likely No. 2. Between the lack of big plays and middling target volume, Higbee is more floor than ceiling, with his outburst late in 2019 increasingly looking like a fluke. Higbee suffered an MCL sprain in the NFC championship, but he resumed on-field work in May and was subsequently able to participate training camp.

Higbee was a divisive player last offseason, after closing out 2019 with 522 receiving yards in the final five games, having benefitted from added snaps and targets while fellow tight end Gerald Everett dealt with a knee injury. Those who worried about Everett’s healthy return in 2020 ultimately proved correct, as Higbee sunk to 521 yards in 15 games and saw two fewer targets than his position mate. The question now is if Higbee has post-hype breakout appeal, with Everett departing for Seattle and Matthew Stafford replacing Jared Goff as Rams QB. Nobody will ever confuse Higbee (4.77 40 in 2016) with Darren Waller or Travis Kelce, but the 28-year-old is a sure-handed receiver who also does solid work as both a run and pass blocker. That last part is arguably the biggest downside of Sean McVay’s system from a fantasy standpoint, with Higbee losing about 100 snaps per year to pass blocking. It’s something he can potentially overcome if he has a three-down role, but we can’t be sure that will happen after the Rams used fourth-round picks on tight ends in the last two drafts (Brycen Hopkins, 2020; Jacob Harris, 2021).

Higbee’s late surge in 2019 truly came out of nowhere, after he fell shy of 300 yards in each of his first three NFL seasons and was limited to 212 yards through 10 games last year. It was actually fellow Rams tight end Gerald Everett who appeared to be breaking out at one point in the season, until his November knee injury opened the door for Higbee to handle a three-down role. He responded by closing out the season with five consecutive games with seven or more catches and 88 or more yards, averaging 11.2 targets per week. It now appears the Rams landed a bargain when they signed Higbee to a four-year, $29 million extension in September, potentially leaving Everett as the odd man out when his contract expires after 2020. There’s still a degree of uncertainty for the short-term production outlook, with a healthy Everett potentially stealing some snaps, while wide receivers Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp are locked in for a steady stream of short passes. Of course, there’s generally been enough to go around in the Sean McVay/Jared Goff offenses, and at 6-6, 255, Higbee has always been more trusted as a blocker than Everett.

The Rams consistently turned to fellow tight end Gerald Everett in the passing attack down the stretch and through the playoffs last season, as Higbee has earned his keep as a blocker more than a downfield threat. As a result, Higbee projects to remain an unreliable fantasy asset with a low ceiling, especially considering how many other weapons the Rams have on offense.

Late-season involvement in the Rams 2016 offense carried over into 2017, and Higbee responded with 11.8 yards per catch while securing 25 of 45 targets over 16 games. However, there are a number of reasons for pause about Higbee’s candidacy for another significant jump in Year 3. First, the tight end didn’t see a single pass from within the five-yard line last season and only received five total looks within the red zone. Second, 2017 second-rounder Gerald Everett is pushing him for playing time and could force Higbee into a reduced role sooner than later. Finally, coach Sean McVay has historically leaned more on his wideouts than tight ends as pass catchers – and that’s in addition to Everett being around to steal opportunities in the passing game. There’s a strong possibility Higbee’s biggest contributions in 2018 come while blocking on run plays.

Some off-field issues cost Higbee draft status in 2016, but the Rams started to incorporate him into the offense during the second half of the year. He had a seven-target game against Carolina in November — let’s forget six of them fell incomplete — and drew 11 targets across a four-game stretch in December. The hiring of head coach Sean McVay should be good news for Higbee; McVay was known for using tight ends regularly in Washington. Higbee also benefits from the departure of veteran TE Lance Kendricks, pushing him into a starting role this year. A second-year improvement looks likely here, and there’s a little spike potential as well, but second-round rookie Gerald Everett could cut into Higbee’s target.

The Rams took a major chance on Higbee with a fourth-round selection, as he is coming off knee surgery and also has second-degree assault charges pending against him. Higbee was a force at Western Kentucky with his 6-foot-4, 243-pound frame, but it remains to be seen if his off-the-field issues will cost him games to begin the season. If he’s healthy and proves he can stay out of trouble, he has major potential, but those are big hurdles to jump.