NFL Writer Nick Shook Ranks Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd Among NFL's Most Reliable Pass Catchers

The Bengals have plenty of options to make plays in 2023.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Publish date:
Jun 6, 2023 10:45 AM EDT

In this story:

CINCINNATI — NFL.com writer Nick Shook released his top-10 most reliable pass catchers with the help of Next Gen Stats and two Bengals wide receivers made the list: Tee Higgins (No. 7) and Tyler Boyd (No. 8).

Higgins is riding high after a proven stint as a No. 1 pass-catcher without Ja'Marr Chase.

"Higgins is entering a contract year, and he can use his placement on this list as proof that he deserves to get paid," Shook wrote. "Higgins finished first in these rankings a year ago, outpacing his more notable teammate, Ja'Marr Chase, and he once again outdid Chase when it came to making unexpected catches. Interestingly, Higgins fell short of another Cincinnati teammate on this list because of a slight difference in CROE, as you'll see below.

"Still, Higgins posted his second straight 1,000-yard season and set a new career high in touchdown catches (7) in 2022. Higgins also dominated most of the players on this list when it came to total expected points added, finishing with +51.3 EPA -- thanks, in part, to his 7 touchdown snags and just one interception thrown when he was targeted as the nearest receiver."

Boyd's reliability has earned him the badge of longest-tenured receiver on the roster.

"Despite coming in third in target share among his fellow Bengals (Chase led the group with 22.6%), Boyd landed in the top 10 here because of -- surprise! -- an ability to make unlikely catches," Shook wrote. "Boyd caught 7.2% more of his targets than expected, helping Burrow post a 94.7 passer rating when targeting him. Boyd thrived on post routes, which helps explain his 151 receiving yards over expected.

"He also found success operating out of the slot (where he logged 79% of his targets) while sharing the field with Chase, who often occupied defensive attention outside. Thus, Boyd was able to put up strong overall numbers despite seeing a target rate of just 15.4 percent. And he came through in the clutch, catching four of his five end-zone targets on the year, presumably while defenses were again concerning themselves with the threats of Chase and Higgins."

Shook prefaced the lack of major star power on the list with a simple fact: those players get targeted the most, and therefore guys like Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson have more chances at easier catches.

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