The Los Angeles Rams leaned on Tyler Higbee in the passing game in 2022 amid a bevy of injuries to the other pass catchers on the roster. On a team that is littered with inexperienced players, Higbee is entering his eighth season with the Rams and he could provide value in fantasy football in 2023.
Amid injuries to Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, and offensive linemen, Higbee tallied career-high marks in targets (108) and receptions (108) last season. Higbee became a safety blanket for the quarterbacks on the Rams in 2022, evidenced by his low 8.6 yards per reception (his lowest output since his rookie season in 2016).
With fantasy drafts taking place this time of year, Higbee possesses an ADP (average draft position) of 135 and is TE15 off the board, according to FantasyPros. That puts him behind tight ends like Greg Dulcich and Cole Kmet, and ahead of rookie Dalton Kincaid and Juwan Johnson.
An increased role helped Higbee conclude last season as TE9 overall and TE15 in fantasy points per game in half-PPR (points per reception) formats. In three of the last four seasons, Higbee hasn’t finished worse than TE14 overall, giving him a solid floor in fantasy football.
To add to that, Higbee has eclipsed 85-plus targets and 61-plus receptions in three of the last four years. Meanwhile, he has yet to catch more than five touchdowns in a season with the Rams.
Consistency can be valuable at the tight end position in fantasy football, and Higbee has given solid production in recent years. At the same time, it’s tough to predict a TE1 ceiling for Higbee in 2023 with Kupp and Jefferson coming back healthy for the Rams.
Higbee is entering a contract year in the upcoming season and the Rams drafted his potential replacement in Davis Allen during the 2023 NFL draft. Hunter Long was also acquired in the Jalen Ramsey trade and it remains to be seen what the Rams have planned for him — if anything.
In the later rounds of the draft, you could do a lot worse than Higbee as your TE2 or as a late-round target. Higbee also makes a ton of sense as a stacking option with Matthew Stafford in best-ball leagues considering the Rams will likely have plenty of games where they’ll be playing from behind or in a shootout.
