Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos ended the 2024 regular season 11th in pass attempts. But, with the 20th-most yards, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox lists the Broncos among the “top” potential landing spots for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
The Bengals selected Higgins in the second round of the 2020 draft.
He has finished four of his five pro seasons with over 900 receiving yards, crossing the 1,000-yard mark twice, with 34 career touchdowns.
Higgins had a big game against the Broncos cornerback Riley Moss in Week 17. He finished the game with 11 receptions for 131 yards and 3 touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, Higgins had a 7-101-2 line when Moss covered him, including the game-winning TD in overtime.
“Higgins could potentially turn a good receiving corps into a great one,” Knox wrote on January 6. “With a few more offensive pieces in place to complement Nix and Denver’s top-10 scoring defense, Denver could quickly become a Super Bowl contender
“Denver can offer Higgins an attractive situation, and with $60 million in projected cap space, it could offer a lucrative contract as well.”
Higgins is playing on the franchise tag worth $21.8 million over one year.
“There’s little to no chance Higgins is in Cincinnati beyond 2024. People I’ve talked to feel pretty strongly about that, barring a major surprise,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote in November. “Higgins wanted out of Cincinnati last offseason, and the Bengals will likely allocate resources for a [Ja’Marr] Chase contract. Higgins will have a strong market because of the number of receiver-needy teams and Higgins’ WR1 traits.”
Tee Higgins Lettin Process Play Out With Bengals as Free Agency Looms
GettyTee Higgins #5 of the Cincinnati Bengals reacts after victory against the Denver Broncos.
Fowler also notes that it would cost the Bengals $26.2 million to franchise tag Higgins for a second time. Over The Cap projects the Bengals to have $57.5 million in cap space for the 2025 offseason.
Higgins’ approach is to let the cards fall where they may.
“Pay the man” Ja’Marr Chase talking out loud to Tee Higgins during Higgins session with the media. Tee Higgins “this could be the last game in Stripes here so it meant a lot more to me.”
Still, Knox paints an encouraging picture of how Higgins could fit in with the Broncos if he signed with them in free agency.
“In offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi’s offense, Higgins could be used similarly to how Lombardi previously used Keenan Allen with the Los Angeles Chargers,” Knox wrote. “Allen was a high-volume target, averaging 6.6 receptions per game in two years under Lombardi.”
Broncos head coach Sean Payton had a player with a body type and skill set similar to Higgins in Marques Colston when he was with the New Orleans Saints.
Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin Can Check WR Off Broncos’ List of Needs
GettyDevaughn Vele #17, Marvin Mims Jr. #19, and Courtland Sutton #14 of the Denver Broncos celebrate a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Broncos’ postseason run could present an opportunity for Broncos rookies Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin Jr. to step up alongside Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims.
Mims is also the team’s top return man and has not logged more than 47% of the offensive snaps in a single game this season, per Pro Football Reference. Sutton will likely draw the most attention from the opposing team; the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey was third among Broncos receivers with a 49.5% snap share.
But Franklin and Vele – selected in the fourth and seventh round of the 2024 draft, respectively – join Mims and Sutton as the only receivers under contract for 2025.
Franklin was Nix’s teammate in college at Oregon, though that preexisting chemistry has yet to translate to the NFL level. Still, his athletic profile as a deep threat in the Broncos offense is appealing.
Broncos WR Troy Franklin is now tied for 6th in the NFL among WRs with 3.8 average yards of separation (tied with Jaylen Waddle) 🤯
per @NextGenStats
Vele is another big-bodied pass catcher, whom the Broncos list at 6-foot-5.
A big game by one or both players in the playoffs could keep Higgins or another wideout off the Broncos’ list of needs in free agency and the 2025 draft during the offseason.
