X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

Rashard Higgins (WR, CLE) - 2019 Fantasy Football Sleeper

Heading into the 2019 season, a lot of hype surrounds the Cleveland Browns. Most of this hype revolves around second-year quarterback Baker Mayfield and his likely progression from a season ago, as well as the recent addition of Odell Beckham Jr. to the roster. The Browns finished 2018 with a record of 7-8-1, which was good for their best winning percentage since 2007 when they finished 10-6.

The 2019 Browns bring back a lot of their core offense from 2018 in the likes of Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, and David Njoku. They said goodbye to former head coaches Gregg Williams and Hue Jackson, and running back Duke Johnson. The offense also has some new additions in the aforementioned Odell Beckham Jr and Kareem Hunt. Having a list of names like these on your offense certainly will bring about high expectations, but what about the role players in the offense?

Aside from the big names on this Cleveland offense, there are players like Rashard Higgins that had a sizeable impact in 2018 and should be counted on again in 2019. Higgins was third among wide receivers on the team in snaps, receptions, and yards trailing only Jarvis Landry and Antonio Callaway. He was also second on the team in receiving touchdowns with four. With the trade of Duke Johnson and loss of Antonio Callaway to a four-game suspension to start this season, Higgins finds himself moving up the pecking order in a potentially explosive offense.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:

 

Higgins to Elevate Game in 2019

The basic stats tell us that Higgins was targeted 53 times, catching 39 of those targets for 572 yards and four touchdowns. Not a bad season by any means for a third-year receiver under a rookie quarterback, but not exactly a breakout season, either. From Week 13-17, Higgins hauled in 18 of those 39 receptions for 257 yards, which totaled almost half of his season's production. This shows that it is very possible Baker Mayfield began to get more comfortable with Higgins as the season went on. This is also evidenced by Higgins' first preseason game in which he caught five of six targets for 98 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown strike came on a 24-yard dime from Baker Mayfield.

Most of the advanced metrics Higgins put up last season do not immediately jump off the page, but he was very commendable in several areas. One spot where he does stand out is his catch rate. In 2018, Higgins hauled in a solid 72.2 percent of his targets, which placed him in the top 22 percent of the league. This number would have been much higher if not for a high drop rate, which was near the bottom third of the league. This has been an issue in the past (he also dropped seven balls in 2017), but it did improve last season. Continued improvement in 2019 will almost make this a non-factor.

Another area we could see improvement from Higgins in 2019 is in his air yards and target share. In 2018, Higgins averaged 44.5 air yards per game and was responsible for 11.2 percent of the Browns' air yards. This ranked him in the top 48 percent and 52 percent among the position, respectively.

Higgins garnered 9.8 percent of the target share, which was below the percentage Johnson (11.1) and Callaway (14.3) received a year ago. Even with the addition of Odell Beckham Jr., it is more than reasonable to see Higgins' target share increase with the loss of Johnson and Callaway. Callaway could be a threat to these targets upon his return after suspension, but Higgins will hopefully have engrained himself into the offense by that point. He is clearly on his way to doing that already given the results of his first preseason contest. Plus, Callaway has had a history of off-field problems that could also help keep Higgins on the field.

Currently, Higgins has an ADP of 269, which would put him in round 22 of deep drafts or off the draft board entirely in many formats. With the latest news on Callaway, this should only rise in the coming days and weeks, and he should certainly surpass that level of ADP with his performance. Look to take him as a final-round flier that should bring back exceptional value.


Check out RotoBaller's famous fantasy football draft sleepers and waiver wire pickups list, updated regularly!




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Chris Sale10 hours ago

Wins National League Cy Young Award
Tarik Skubal10 hours ago

Wins 2024 American League Cy Young Award
Paul George10 hours ago

Exits Game On Wednesday, Hyperextends Left Knee Again
Scoot Henderson11 hours ago

Leaves Game On Wednesday, Won't Return
Jalen Johnson11 hours ago

Active On Wednesday Night
Zach Collins12 hours ago

Uncertain To Play On Thursday
Austin Eckroat12 hours ago

Heads To The RSM Classic After Win
Harris English12 hours ago

Finding Form Heading To The RSM Classic
Ben Griffin12 hours ago

Continues Playing Well Heading To The RSM Classic
Denny McCarthy12 hours ago

Returns to The RSM Classic
Patrick Williams12 hours ago

Likely To Miss At Least One Week
Kyle Anderson12 hours ago

Available For Matchup With Hawks
Victor Wembanyama12 hours ago

Out Again On Thursday
Jusuf Nurkic12 hours ago

Available On Wednesday
Stephen Curry12 hours ago

Will Play Against Atlanta
De'Anthony Melton13 hours ago

To Undergo Season-Ending ACL Surgery
Tre Mann13 hours ago

Probable For Thursday Night Matchup Against Detroit
Mike Conley13 hours ago

Appears On Injury Report For Thursday With Toe Injury
Donte DiVincenzo13 hours ago

Questionable Heading Into Thursday
Josh Jacobs13 hours ago

Limited With Multiple Injuries
DeVonta Smith13 hours ago

Misses Practice On Wednesday
Isaiah Hartenstein13 hours ago

To Make Season Debut On Wednesday
Tyrese Maxey13 hours ago

Active On Wednesday
Jarace Walker14 hours ago

Available On Wednesday
Ben Sheppard14 hours ago

Ruled Out For Wednesday
Myles Turner14 hours ago

To Play On Wednesday
Jalen Green14 hours ago

Available On Wednesday
Vince Williams Jr.15 hours ago

Out Versus 76ers
Wendell Carter Jr.15 hours ago

Unavailable Versus Clippers
Seth Jones15 hours ago

Expected To Miss Four Weeks
Sam Darnold15 hours ago

Limited With Foot Injury
Max Domi15 hours ago

Placed On Injured Reserve
Jalen Hurts15 hours ago

Limited On Wednesday
Connor Ingram15 hours ago

Out Day-To-Day With An Upper-Body Injury
Jake Ferguson15 hours ago

Picks Up A DNP On Wednesday
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen15 hours ago

Returns To Action Versus Kings
CeeDee Lamb16 hours ago

Listed As Limited, Dealing With Two Injuries
Alex Tuch16 hours ago

Available Wednesday
Tage Thompson16 hours ago

Remains Out On Wednesday
Sam LaPorta16 hours ago

Practicing In Full
Jordan Eberle16 hours ago

To Remain Out On Wednesday
George Kittle16 hours ago

Will Play In Week 12
Ludvig Aberg16 hours ago

Looks To Defend RSM Classic Title
Ladd McConkey16 hours ago

Does Not Practice On Wednesday
Si Woo Kim16 hours ago

An Intriguing Option At RSM Classic
Maverick McNealy16 hours ago

In Solid Form Ahead Of RSM Classic
Eric Cole16 hours ago

Chasing First Tour Victory At RSM Classic
San Francisco 49ers17 hours ago

Nick Bosa Does Not Practice On Wednesday
Christian McCaffrey17 hours ago

Does Not Practice On Wednesday
George Kittle17 hours ago

Limited During Wednesday's Practice
Brock Purdy17 hours ago

Limited On Wednesday
Alexander Mattison17 hours ago

Zamir White Not Practicing On Wednesday
Sam LaPorta18 hours ago

Trending Towards Playing In Week 12
Calvin Ridley19 hours ago

Out Wednesday With Illness
Isiah Pacheco20 hours ago

To Practice On Wednesday
D'Andre Swift20 hours ago

Won't Practice On Wednesday
Brandin Cooks21 hours ago

Cowboys Open Brandin Cooks' Practice Window
Mike Evans21 hours ago

Practicing Again On Wednesday
Connor Bedard1 day ago

Ends Drought With Two Assists
Sam Reinhart1 day ago

Pushes Point Streak To 11 Games
Mark Scheifele1 day ago

Celebrates Ninth Career Hat Trick
Evan Bouchard1 day ago

Rocks Senators With Three-Point Period
Connor McDavid1 day ago

Nets Two Goals During Three-Point Night
TB1 day ago

Nicholas Paul Exits Early With Injury Tuesday
Zach Hyman1 day ago

Sits Out Third Period Versus Senators
1 day ago

Guardians' Stephen Vogt Named AL Manager Of The Year
Milwaukee Brewers1 day ago

Pat Murphy Named NL Manager Of The Year
Jonas Brodin2 days ago

Returns To Action
Joel Eriksson Ek2 days ago

Returns To Wild Lineup
2 days ago

Nick Pivetta Declines Boston's Qualifying Offer
Robert Thomas2 days ago

Back For Blues Tuesday
Jose Siri2 days ago

Mets Acquire Jose Siri From The Rays
Alexander Romanov2 days ago

Rejoins Islanders Lineup
Brayden Point2 days ago

Ready To Return Versus Penguins
Conor Garland2 days ago

A Game-Time Call Tuesday
J.T. Miller2 days ago

Takes Indefinite Leave For Personal Reasons
Jake Ferguson2 days ago

"Will Be Hard-Pressed" To Play In Week 12
2 days ago

Phillies To Meet With Juan Soto
2 days ago

Luis Severino Rejects Qualifying Offer From Mets
2 days ago

Willy Adames Declines Brewers Qualifying Offer
2 days ago

Teoscar Hernandez Declines Qualifying Offer From Dodgers
2 days ago

Juan Soto Declines Yankees' Qualifying Offer
Luis Gil2 days ago

Wins AL Rookie Of The Year Award
Paul Skenes2 days ago

Named 2024 NL Rookie Of The Year
Brady Singer3 days ago

Reds, Royals Discussing Jonathan India, Brady Singer
3 days ago

Sean Manaea To Reject Mets' Qualifying Offer
3 days ago

Braves Have Interest In Walker Buehler
3 days ago

Astros Interested In Willy Adames
Charles Oliveira3 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Michael Chandler3 days ago

Gets Dominated At UFC 309
Karine Silva3 days ago

Suffers Her First UFC Loss
Viviane Araujo3 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Mauricio Ruffy3 days ago

Extends His Win Streak To Six
Nick Martinez4 days ago

Signs Qualifying Offer With Reds
4 days ago

Luis Severino Likely To Decline Qualifying Offer From Mets
James Llontop4 days ago

Loses Clear-Cut Decision In Thrilling Fight At UFC 309
Paul Craig4 days ago

Loses Decision At UFC 309
Bo Nickal4 days ago

Remains Undefeated With Lackluster Performance At UFC 309
Stipe Miocic4 days ago

Retires After UFC 309 Loss
Jon Jones4 days ago

Gets TKO Win At UFC 309 To Defend Heavyweight Title
Grayson Rodriguez6 days ago

Orioles Optimistic Grayson Rodriguez Will Have A Full Spring Training
6 days ago

Red Sox Have Productive Meeting With Juan Soto

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP