Breer: Tee Higgins among potential Patriots WR targets originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots may have their next franchise quarterback in Drake Maye, and now they should look to surround their third draft pick with playmakers.
A potential addition to their wide receiver corps is currently playing for their Week 1 opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals. Tee Higgins is playing under the franchise tag and is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2024 season.
On Sunday Patriots pregame liveAlbert Breer of The MMQB named the 25-year-old as a player New England could target.
“Tee Higgins will either be a free agent or they will sign him with the intention of trading him after the year. Either way, Tee Higgins will be available,” Breer said. “I think he’s someone who could be worth looking at.”
Higgins, who will miss Week 1 against New England because of a hamstring injury, is coming off a down year with the Bengals, but in 2022 he caught 74 passes for 1,029 yards and scored a career-high seven touchdowns.
Breer acknowledged that Higgins’ star teammate Ja’Marr Chase will likely clear his contract situation and stay in Cincinnati. While Chase is probably not a realistic option for the Patriots, other interesting wideouts could soon become available via a trade.
“I think you want to look at the guys who are going into their fourth year and are eligible for contracts for the first time. So you want to look at the 2022 draft class as potential transfer targets,” Breer added.
“Guys like Chris Olave; the Jets would never trade Garrett Wilson here, but if there were any problems, he would be one of them. Jameson Williams, who has had a little up and down with the Lions so far. Drake London with the Falcons. Christian Watson with the Packers, he’s going into a contract year.”
If New England can’t find a deal for one of these talented receivers, it could search the free-agent market for a proven veteran. This would be the less attractive route, as most of the free-agent receivers in question are quite old.
As Breer notes, this was likely a reason for New England’s aggressive pursuit of San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. The Patriots reportedly offered the 26-year-old a three-year deal worth $90 million and a four-year contract with an average annual salary of $32.4 million.
“When you look at the free agent class, you see some of the older names,” Breer said. “Guys like Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Chris Godwin, Brandin Cooks, DeAndre Hopkins, Robert Woods. Those are all guys who are on the back end.”
“I think that’s why the Brandon Aiyuk situation was so attractive to the Patriots. You never know when a guy like that will become available. So even though it was a little while before they planned to make a big move and get a guy to play with Drake Maye long-term, they felt like they had to make the move when the opportunity presented itself. Maybe one of those moves will come again in the next few years, but most of the guys that would be available next year would either be through a trade or a little older.”
Right now, the Patriots are relying on a young receiver team that includes rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, as well as second-year wide receiver DeMario Douglas and 2022 second-round pick Tyquan Thornton. Maye will begin the season as the backup to veteran signal-caller Jacoby Brissett.
