After Sunday’s proverbial migraine of a turnover-filled debacle in a 21-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, one of the few bright spots for the Cleveland Browns may have been the emergence of Rashard Higgins.
Higgins, a former 2015 fifth-round pick out of Colorado State, who was just recently called up from the practice squad, caught seven passes on 11 targets for 95 yards against the Ravens. Thanks to the recent broken hand, and being placed on IR—his second in two years—suffered by first round pick Corey Coleman, and the ineffective free agent bust that is Kenny Britt, it’s light, camera and action for the man called Hollywood.
The 6’2, 190-pounder out of Colorado State, Higgins was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s top wideout and led the country in receiving yards with 1,750 and touchdowns 17 back in 2014. So there is no doubt that the talent and ability is there, and with the current WR corps of the Browns in flux, Higgins will not only have the chance to prove his worth, but to stick around.
If his game in Baltimore was any indication, it appears that he will become rookie quarterback DeShione Kizer’s go-to guy on third downs and as the teams new possession receiver going forward. Which, honestly should have been done a lot sooner based on his past accomplishments and skill set.
With the likes of Sammie Coates, Kazen Williams, the forementioned Britt and Ricardo Louis now the main guys, and the uncertainty of Josh Gordon ever coming back, this is Higgins chance to claim a permanent spot on the offense.
It’s clear that the Browns lack any time of playmaking wideout other than the brittle and injury-prone Coleman, and with perhaps the exception of tight ends David Njoku and Seth DaValve, Cleveland lacks elite talent at the WR spot.
Due to this deficiency and the 0-2 Browns still a very young squad, set to go through a lot of growing pains, Higgins has a chance to stake his claim as a solid WR on a up and coming team.