Houston Texans can follow the same blueprint by drafting Tee Higgins

The Houston Texans can follow the same blueprint as they did in the past by drafting wideout Tee Higgins. Why is that the case? Let’s take a look.

It’s just about draft time for the Houston Texans and I’m sure they’ve made a list and they’re checking it twice as if it’s Christmas-time with the exception that it’s the middle of the spring and the decorations that we all hold true have long since been taken down.

But it’s the most wonderful time of the year for NFL franchises because they’ll have the opportunity to get wild-eyed, fresh-faced talent that they need to improve their teams and a possible fixture of the face of the franchise for years to come.

The Houston Texans — will really Bill O’Brien — committed an egregious sin by packaging up DeAndre Hopkins to trade him to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for David Johnson and a second-round pick. I’ve had people come at me explaining the sound reasoning behind the deal and none of them are good enough.

Hopkins was supposed to be a Texan for life. He was to be inducted onto Pro Football Hall of Fame representing this franchise and the unanimous selection into the team’s Ring of Honor. Now that won’t be so as a disagreement between him and O’Brien simmered over the point of this team’s coach and general manager getting on the phone to send him packing.

I’m sure most of us are frustrated — and wish the NFL would nullify the deal — but we have to start focusing on the reality of life without Hop around.

Deshaun Watson, the other half to what would’ve likely been a Hall of Fame dynamic duo, has apparently taken to social media to express his displeasure of the deal with a clandestine array of tweets in regard to what went down.

Let’s just hope that he doesn’t want to depart because of what happened but I’m sure an early contract extension that ups his pay to $35 to $40 million per season — to which the team is reportedly working on — will lessen some of the pain tremendously.

Since then, the team has signed veteran wide receiver Randall Cobb and he’ll be complemented by Will Fuller, Kenny Stills and Keke Coutee on that front.

Cobb is not the long-term answer and it’s imperative that this team invests in a wide receiver quickly to have some sort of continuity to what they had in Nuk.

You can’t replace Hopkins but there is enough talent in this upcoming draft where one can make a quick bounce-back. This could be possibly why O’Brien decided to part ways with the three-time first-team All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler.

What should the Houston Texans do? They need to look long and hard at Clemson’s Tee Higgins, a wide receiver that shares the same alma mater as Hopkins. There’s something in the water up there and I think the franchise can hit it big if they stick with the same blueprint by plucking him first thing in the second round.

Higgins could be a late first-round or early second-round pick and his attributes definitely will serve this franchise well.

The frame of the 6-foot-4, 216-pound wideout with 34.1-inch arms and 9.25-inch hands

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combined with his respectable speed — reportedly 4.39 seconds — will cause an immense amount of mismatches against opponents.

He won’t be a guy that needs much grooming and he’ll be somebody that you could plug-and-play almost immediately with tweaking his nuances for the pro game along the way. That’s the type of guy the Texans need as they have little time to develop a wide receiver to replace the incredibly dynamic one that they lost.

Dabo Swinney, who should be the head coach of the Houston Texans by the way, has a knack for developing wideouts and Higgins is none the exception.

The first-team All-ACC member last season leaves the Tigers as the only wide receiver to record double-digit touchdown numbers in consecutive seasons.

Let’s find out what the experts have to say:

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:

"“Long, angular frame with cheat-code body control and ball skills when attacking downfield. Higgins is leggy getting off of the press, but those same leggy strides are weapons of separation that help create big plays. He’s played all three receiver spots and can be moved around to match up against cornerbacks. His size and “above the rim” talent make him a uniquely dangerous playmaker deep and in the red zone. The transition to NFL press corners will be an early challenge that could take some time to solve, but he’s an instinctive ball-winner whose traits should win out and make him a very good NFL starter.”"

Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball.com:

"“Higgins had 59 catches for 1,167 yards with 13 touchdowns in 2019. He is a tall, long receiver who is a red-zone weapon and provides a size mismatch for the NFL. He is dangerous red-zone threat given his length and leaping ability. Higgins is a volleyball player-style receiver who is not a tough wideout to work between the numbers. Assuming his pro day 40 time is solid, Higgins should get late first-round consideration and should go in the early portion of the second round if he isn’t a first-round pick.”"

And for those visual learners, here’s info from the awesome guys at Pro Football Focus:

What’s there not to like about this guy? I think the sting of losing Hopkins will lessen a bit if the team brought him into the fold. The question would be if he’s available in the second round with the 27th pick? It’s quite possible but this guy is too good to be sitting for long on Day 2 but I’m certainly hoping for the best.

I know the Houston Texans assets are limited this season but Higgins is the type of guy that you’d want to trade up for because I think he would quickly win over this fanbase if that were the case.

As always, we’ll see what happens but I certainly hope the Texans are giving this generational talent a long, hard look at how he could transmogrify this team.

Next. Texans can have quick recovery by drafting Raekwon Davis. dark

Higgins caught 135 balls for 2,448 yards — 18.1 yards per reception — along with 27 touchdowns through his three seasons with the Tigers, his name is prominently associated with his predecessors Hopkins and Sammy Watkins.

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