NFL Draft: Best-Case Scenario For Higgins

Former Clemson receiver Tee Higgins may or may not be a first-round selection in Thursday's 2020 NFL Draft, but there is an ideal situation out there for him: the Green Bay Packers, who pick No. 30 overall.

Former Clemson receiver Tee Higgins is no lock to be a first-round selection Thursday night in the 2020 NFL Draft.

But in a perfect world, there’s a perfect situation for everyone, including the tall, rangy Higgins.

The Oak Ridge, Tenn., native made a name for himself at Clemson in his sophomore season, when he caught 59 passes for 936 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns in 2018’s national championship season.

Higgins became a go-to red-zone threat, and he carried that over to 2019 when he led the Tigers in receiving yards (1,167) and touchdowns (13) and finished second with 59 receptions.

What Higgins proved is that he can play at a high level on the biggest stages, and he left Tiger Town tied with DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins for career touchdown receptions (27). And while he doesn’t possess as much blazing speed as some of the other elite wideouts in this draft class, Higgins is going to be a 50-50 ball terror, especially when he adds more weight to his frame, in the pros.

“He’s elite in every way,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “He’s got excellent top-end speed, freaky ball skills, unbelievable size, collision balance, radius, high football IQ, great character, great coachability. He’s the complete package.”

Figuring out the best fit for the 6-foot-4, 216-pound Higgins isn’t hard for a player at his position: good quarterback play, well-designed offense and veteran receivers who can bring him along.

Based on those criteria, the Green Bay Packers, who pick No. 30 in the first round, would be a solid place to start.

It’s a team Higgins has been linked to by draft analysts since he announced in January he was leaving Clemson early for the NFL. The Packers are in definite need of a pass catcher and will likely take one with their first pick.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn’t getting any younger, and the window to win another Super Bowl is closing, so Green Bay wants to give him enough weapons to make a run in the next three years.

Second-year coach Matt LaFleur is an offensive coach who was hired to make the Packers a better scoring attack.

Looking at the depth chart, Green Bay has a true No. 1 WR in Davante Adams, and youngsters Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard are worthy compliments but not necessarily game-changers.

It can be argued that Higgins might not have those capabilities either. There are reasons why CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III will go ahead of him.

“I think he’s (got) really, really fast straight-line speed,” Swinney said. “He ran a 4.5 something (40-yard dash at Clemson Pro Day), which is what he really needed to do. He’s not a track guy...but put him in a receiver stance and line him up with everybody else and see how it ends. He can run with anybody.”

The Packers don’t appear to be in a position to move up in the draft and get one of those top three wideouts, so they’ll have to settle for receivers with more question marks, like Higgins, Denzel Mims, Brandon Aiyuk or Laviska Shenault.

“I’ve been talking to a variety of teams,” Higgins said. “Hopefully I get picked.”

The Packers may very well decide a speedster is a better fit for them, but Higgins could be an excellent red-zone target for Rodgers, and Higgins has the body type that’s made the veteran QB successful.

Not being “the man” on Day 1 and learning from Adams could greatly benefit Higgins’ development at the next level.

“He’s going to be a first-round, second-round at worse guy and get his opportunity,” Swinney said. “The day he gets somewhere he’ll be the guy. I don’t have any doubt about that because he’s prepared for that.”

Other potential fits

•Minnesota Vikings have the No. 22 and No. 25 selections and need someone to replace Stephon Diggs, who they traded to Buffalo. Higgins would need to be a plug-and-play option with QB Kirk Cousins.

•Buffalo Bills have not shied away from Clemson offensive players in the past, drafting running back C.J. Spiller and receiver Sammy Watkins last decade. They did land their No. 1 WR in Diggs, but their next two best receivers will be over 30 this season, so they need to get younger at the position.

•Cincinnati Bengals were the team Higgins pulled for growing up, and while they’ve put the franchise tag on often-injured star A.J. Green and drafted John Ross high a couple years ago, maybe they’ll want to give former LSU QB Joe Burrow, who they’re expected to take No. 1, as many weapons as possible with the first pick of the second round.