Ja’Marr Chase Becomes Fantasy Football WR1 Overall Following Tee Higgins Concussion
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Tee Higgins has re-entered the injury report after he suffered a concussion in Week 12. This will find Higgins sidelined, once again, and that effectively changes the scenery of this Bengals offense on Thanksgiving. Our job today will entail analyzing and predicting how to value all notable Bengals, minus Higgins. They do get back Ja'Marr Chase and Joe Burrow, so let's dive into the Bengals Thanksgiving Day outlook.
Fantasy Football Impact
Through 11 Games Played, Higgins had commanded a 19% Target Share on top of a team-best (7) Touchdowns. Higgins is a vertical threat, averaging 14.4 Yards per Reception, so the Bengals will lose that crucial element of their offense.
Our first order of business is to determine the adjusted Target Shares of this offense. I would expect something like this:
Player | W/ Higgins Target Share | New Target Share |
|---|---|---|
Ja'Marr Chase | 32% | 35-40% |
Andre Iosivas | 12% | 15-17% |
Mitchell Tinsley | 3% | 5% |
Chase Brown | 14% | 15-17% |
Noah Fant | 8% | 8-10% |
Mike Gesicki | 8% | 8-10% |
Chase will be a huge beneficiary with WR1 likelihood. Iosivas will be a streamable Flex play, but that will be all. Fant and Gesicki split work, so they may also not be worth much.
Stock Watch
Joe Burrow is a startable asset, pending your options. Check our Quarterback rankings to be released tomorrow.
Ja'Marr Chase competes with Jaxon Smith-Njigba for WR1 overall status this week.
Andre Iosivas is the current WR70, but he may trend to cutting that number nearly in half. He is a Flex option.
Mitchell Tinsley still lacks much to be had. If they had confidence, he would have more than a 3% Target Share this season.
Noah Fant and Mike Gesicki are still unlikely to crack the Top-15 Tight Ends and unlikely even the Top-20.
Week 13 Outlook
The Bengals do walk into a favorable Week 13 matchup. The Ravens are 24th versus Wide Receivers, and Chase is the best of them all. They have trended upwards as of late, so it may be reasonable to consider the Ravens are a midpack coverage unit. Nonetheless, it is not a bad matchup at all.
Ja'Marr Chase COOKED the Ravens defense 😨🔥
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 8, 2024
11 REC
264 YDS
3 TD
Gave it his all 🤝 pic.twitter.com/lLeaKs4hil
In 2024, Chase actually averaged 229 Yards per Game versus the Ravens. He had (5) Total Touchdowns, marking as good as anyone could ever do versus a team. We crucially look at 2024 because this was a similar unit under the same Defensive Coordinator, Zach Orr.
It would be unreasonable to expect 200+ Yards this week, but Chase still trends above average.
Tee Higgins To Miss Week 13 With Concussion
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor says Tee Higgins (concussion) will be out for Thursday vs. Ravens. pic.twitter.com/tDewae1cnE
— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2025
Higgins endured a concussion in Week 12 versus the Patriots. He had played every game to date. This now will mark the fourth straight season that Higgins missed at least one game. He has missed at least four games in each of the last three seasons.
Concussions vary in severity, so Higgins' timeline is uncertain. However, the Bengals do have extended rest post-Thanksgiving, so I would be optimistic that Higgins may return in Week 14 versus the Ravens. Expect a lot of Chase this week.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.