Rashard Higgins yay or nay?

[Bot101]

What is everyones thoughts on Higgins? Jake Ciely and Matt Harmon seem to be very high on him. And now he has the opportunity with Coleman out and Britt... falling on his own sword.

However his athletic profile leaves a lot to be desired across the board.

[Cameron Giles]

Elite athletic profiles are not necessary for WR's to have success (Brown, Cobb, Landry to name a few), though they can make a productive and skilled WR that much more appealing. There's so much more beyond athleticism that goes into the position.

Somebody has to catch the ball in Cleveland.

[Bot101]

Of course I dont put a ton into athletic profiles. His was just shockingly low. I think a 4th percentile SPARQ score was just a bit shocking to see after I read his reception perception.

[Plank]

Hollywood... could be one of those possession bye week fill in types .. so clustered at WR in CLE its hard to decide on who to place a bet on ..

[onetwothree]

However his athletic profile leaves a lot to be desired across the board.

I think the athletic profile will impact your draft position but once you're in the league it's less of a concern. You won't be a 1st rd pick with bad testing but once you're on a team and playing (practicing) well (or the rest of the team sucks), you'll get your opportunity.

[lukkynumber13]

Of course I dont put a ton into athletic profiles. His was just shockingly low. I think a 4th percentile SPARQ score was just a bit shocking to see after I read his reception perception.

I'm probably overreacting but we are seeing Cook and Hunt have success and they're both pretty bad athletes. Better athletes than Higgins to be sure, but we also aren't expecting stardom from him. Just decency.

[ColdZealDonkeyStrike]

Targets are targets, and if Jarvis Landry can thrive with his athletic profile, Higgins shouldn't be discounted because of it.

[jeffster]

I think we're slowly figuring out that talent > athletics when it comes to WRs. Aside from guys already mentioned, you've also got Kupp... and on the flip side, DGB.

To make that top tier of guys like Julio or AJG you probably need both a freak athletic profile and elite skills, but if you're only going to have one or the other, it's skills you want.

Anyway, I would grab him. Not blowing the waiver budget or starting him week 3, but definitely worth a roster spot in all but the shallowest of leagues.

[ColdZealDonkeyStrike]

For a data point, I am going a little over 10% for Higgins in a deep league. WRs and RBs are quite picked over.

[lukkynumber13]

He went for a surprisingly low amount in the league my sig team is in. Most teams have $150-250 blind bid $ to spend.

I only have $65 left, I put a $25 what-the-heck bid on him. He went for only $35.

[ninotoreS]

I like Higgins, but how the 3-wide sets are gonna shake out now is still uncertain.

First, we have to remember Duke Johnson. If Higgins takes most of his snaps in the slot, that suggests he'll be splitting time with Duke there. That ain't great for our purposes.

Second, we have to remember Ricardo Louis. Is Higgins truly leap-frogging him, just like that? I know he seemed to during the game, but will that continue? With Duke taking quite a few slot snaps for himself in 3-wide sets, it would seem that Higgins will need to be a starter in 2-wide to avoid a fantasy-unfriendly time-share in the slot, and I'm not sure Higgins has already usurped Louis' place on the depth-chart that completely.

Third, Kenny Britt. All of the above issues would be instantly reconciled if he is actually the guy that's gonna be sent to the bench (thus leaving the base 3-wide set clear as Higgins-Louis-Duke). Britt's certainly playing like he wants to ride pine. But is Cleveland ready to admit they screwed up signing him?

[Pac_Eddy]

I'm making a decent bid for Higgins. My team has five WRs that are either OUT or on IR already. Brutal. I'll take a stab at this guy who has the opportunity to get a lot of targets.

[DynastyDeepDive]

I just picked up Ricardo Louis. He could be the main guy. Just has not emerged yet. Read clips on Rotoworld. hue loves the guy. Good size too. I think Britt was a mistake signing.

[Thedudewhogetshigh]

I got him with # 1 waiver priority in one of my leagues..

An Other league is a faab. Everyone starts season with 200. He just went for 185$. I had a claim in for him @ 20..was like damn.

[Reljac]

I went with Higgins in the league I could get him. His metrics may not be great, but he also shows top percentile route running and burst out of cuts that create separation. He apparently dealth with focus drops early in college, but seems to have fixed itself. He hold all the Colorado St receiving records. I think in this regards he profiles similarly to Kupp. He leverages his body well.

The concerns are clearly his strength, early college focus drops, and whether he will be able to create separation against more athletic corners.

His combo of great route running, burst out of cuts to create separation, and opportunity make him worth a pickup, but with anyone who's spent time on a practice squad or with poor metric scores. I wouldn't go over the top until he has performed for a fair period of time on an NFL field.