Analyze Tee Higgins's matchup for week 9
Start Tee Higgins with confidence; his 7-10 target floor, red-zone usage and boom potential outweigh any matchup concerns.
Higgins draws a yet-to-be-named opponent, but the profile stays the same: he’ll run about 80% of his routes on the perimeter and see steady volume thanks to Cincinnati’s pass-heavy script. Defenses still tilt coverage toward Ja’Marr Chase, leaving Higgins in plus matchups versus No. 2 corners or zone looks. His 6’4" frame and elite contested-catch skills make him both a possession chain-mover and a jump-ball threat inside the 20. Even on paper the matchup looks middling, the Bengals’ 60% neutral-situation pass rate keeps his weekly ceiling in the WR1 range.
Healthy after early-season bumps, Higgins has averaged 7.6 targets and 15.4 PPR PPG over his last four, scoring four times in that span.
Volume is the anchor of Higgins’ fantasy profile. When active he commands a 22-24% target share, and that climbs to 27% in the red zone. Joe Burrow’s 100.9 passer rating when targeting Higgins the past two seasons underscores chemistry built on back-shoulder and sideline routes. The Bengals’ offensive line improvements have bought Burrow an extra 0.3 seconds per throw, allowing deeper-developing concepts that favor Higgins’ 13.8 aDOT. Even if the opponent deploys a top corner, defensive coordinators rarely shade double-coverage away from Chase, leaving Higgins in single-press looks he converts at a 62% rate. Injury history is the lone flag—he’s missed six games in the last two years—yet he enters Week 9 without a snap limit. Expect 6-9 receptions, 85-110 yards and a 40% shot at a touchdown, numbers that play as a high-end WR2 in all formats and flirt with top-12 upside.