Pats Trade #1 For Tee Higgins?

Remember Patricia last year? Betamax... :coffee:
I do. And it’s recent history and I’ve absolutely trashed that move as horrible.

But you don’t find me going back years in an effort simply to tar Bill Belichick. DKF is a master at it as well as Mazz and you are their occasional apprentice. You’re better than that.

How would you or I or anyone be viewed if we had somebody looking backwards at our performance over the last 10 years? Even the most successful of us make mistakes, the key is to limit them. Yet certain people trot out their magnifying glasses and their white suits….
 
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Like Harry?
Except for the fact that the Patriots, unlike the Bengals, were not contenders and had not recently made deep playoff runs and Harry, unlike Higgins, never outperformed his rookie deal, yeah- exactly like that.

Would it be great if the Patriots traded for Higgins- sure it would. Is there any logical reason the Bengals would trade him and weaken their team by removing an extremely effective low cost member of their team? No, not all. These aren’t the poorly Bengals of yesteryear. They are one of the best teams in the AFC, and arguably, the NFL.
 
I do. And it’s recent history and I’ve absolutely trashed that move as horrible.

But you don’t find me going back years in an effort simply to tar Bill Belichick. DKF is a master at it as well as Mazz and you are their occasional apprentice. You’re better than that.

How would you or I or anyone be viewed if we had somebody looking backwards at our performance over the last 10 years? Even the most successful of us make mistakes, the key is to limit them. Yet certain people trot out their magnifying glasses and their white suits….
...I'm glad that you got back on track after getting Matt here last year. Oh wait, ALL of us here are basically in LARP mode. :coffee:
 
...I'm glad that you got back on track after getting Matt here last year. Oh wait, ALL of us here are basically in LARP mode. :coffee:
Pay attention, young skywalker.

I was on the anti-Patricia train pretty quick.

I was also on the give him a chance train to begin with, so that part is true.
 
A player plus a 2nd? I'm sure they're aware of the situations.

The more I think about it the more I realize I was wrong.
Yes on paper a first for Higgens is bad value and not worth it.
However he is proven. I think he’s been healthy. He’s young.
You compare that to how the patriots have drafted in the first two rounds the past decade and it’d be a no brainer to trade a first for him.
I give Belichick no credit for drafting Mac jones. Given the need at QB anyone old enough to understand the rules of football would have taken him at that spot. At best however Mac is an average QB. He can only succeed in his rookie deal with the cap space to build a perfect team around him.
Higgens would be better than Sony, Brown, Easley, Harry, Wynn, and whatever you say about strange good competent guards can be be found late in the draft. You don’t find top WRs in late rounds, and Eddleman doesn’t happen without Brady.
So yeah forget my statement about Higgins not being worth a first. I briefly forgot BBs draft record.
 

Bengals GM Duke Tobin shoots down 'ridiculous' Tee Higgins' trade rumors: 'Go find your own receiver'​


Higgins wants to continue to leave his mark in the Queen City​


Duke Tobin was aware of recent trade rumblings regarding Bengals wideout Tee Higgins. Tobin, speaking Tuesday from the NFL combine, emphatically shut down such rumblings.

Cincinnati's general manager made it clear that the Bengals are not interested in parting ways with Higgins, a 1,000-yard receiver each of the last two years who is entering the final year of his rookie contract.

"Trading Tee Higgins is not on my mind," Tobin said before offering a message to teams in need of help at receiver. "That's their problem. They want a receiver, go find your own, you know? In my opinion, Tee Higgins is a good piece for the Cincinnati Bengals. The trade stuff is a little ridiculous right now."

Prior to Super Bowl LVII, Higgins himself made it clear that he has no plans to leave the franchise anytime soon.

"I've seen that," Higgins said of the rumors during an interview with Pro Football Talk from Radio Row in Arizona. "Obviously, I ain't say nothing about it. Nobody within my team said anything about it. So when I saw it, it was shocking to me.

"At the end of the day, I know what I've got going on internally with the organization. I love Cincinnati, I love being there."

As Tobin confirmed on Tuesday, the feeling is mutual inside the Bengals' facility. Higgins, who is part of the Bengals' 2020 rookie class that also included quarterback Joe Burrow, has played an integral role in the team's recent success. The Bengals' five playoff wins over the past two years matches the total amount of postseason wins the franchise won during its first 53 years of existence.

Higgins is part of the most dynamic receiving trio in the league that also features Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd. But with Chase and Burrow also expecting to receive extensions, many have assumed that Higgins will be the odd man out. That does not, however, appear to be the case.

Prior to the start of the 2022 season, Bengals owner Mike Brown made it clear that the team's priority is to keep its offensive core together for the long haul.

"We see the train coming," Brown said of Burrow's extension, via Cincinnati.com. "Then behind him is the receivers pretty soon."

Note that Brown said receivers, not receiver. That would indicate that the team's long-term plans also include Higgins, who led all receivers in last year's Super Bowl with two touchdowns and 100 receiving yards.

Keeping Higgins won't be easy. His current market value is $80.6 million over four years for an average annual salary of just over $20 million, according to Spotrac. Chase's projected market value calls for him to make over $25 million annually. Burrow's projected market value would pay him roughly $44 million annually.

The Bengals can keep Higgins, but it will require some sacrifice on several fronts. The team will have to part ways with several other key players who will likely include linebacker Germaine Pratt and safety Jessie Bates III. It would also help if Burrow accepts a fair but reasonable contract extension. Based on his prior comments regarding his desire to continue to contend for championships, it appears that Burrow will indeed go that route.

"It's good to hear," Higgins said of Burrow's possible contract expectations during an appearance on CBS Sports HQ. "I love Cincinnati. Great city, great people, great fans, great organization. … I'd love to be there for my whole career."
He won't love it so much when Burrows and Chase get top 5 contracts. Chase alone will likely be paid as the #1 wr in the game, and no matter how you try an break it down, if they were to give Higgins a top 5 contact as well, they'd have a 3rd of their entire cap space tied up in three players. They would have to be complete morons to let that happen, but they are the Bengals for a reason.
 
If he could be had for a 2nd I’d be all over it. For a 1st? No thanks.

Let's say that OT and WR are our biggest needs. Not an uncommon view.

Then the game becomes how to fill both given the apparent bounty of the Draft. And that seems almost impossible
unless we get really lucky.

Tee Higgins for a 2nd would most likely be a far better option than anybody we could draft using 14 as our
ammunition. Were he a draft eligiible player showing the skill he has shown after a few seasons in the Show, then he'd run rings
around the competition. None of the options in late April are close to his level right now, but that is part of the
mystery of the Draft. You seldom get a sure thing, but every year somebody gets one hell of a bargain. If you want a WR then
maybe one of the rookie candidates can be his equal, but it takes years of work and a bunch of risk. Higgins is already
proven and probably can continue to develop. Getting him for 46 represents a heist of massive proportions and Cincy
isn't that desperate.

Tell me that we get Tee Higgins and Darnell Wright and still have a shitload of choices to use and I'd tell you we just got won a
Draft that is not exactly loaded at either position. More on Wright later, but I haven't seen anybody that is on his level yet and yet he seems to
have some significant concerns for some. I liked Dawand Jones until I watched this guy and if he isn't a top 15 player and
definitely capable of playing of having a great career at OT, then I'm a blind homer. Wright is the guy we need and I'd race
to the podium at 14 to either take him or trade the pick for Higgins.

With a month to go, I'm not fired up over this Draft, but these scenarios would change that in a hurry and I don't care which.
 
Let's say that OT and WR are our biggest needs. Not an uncommon view.

Then the game becomes how to fill both given the apparent bounty of the Draft. And that seems almost impossible
unless we get really lucky.

Tee Higgins for a 2nd would most likely be a far better option than anybody we could draft using 14 as our
ammunition. Were he a draft eligiible player showing the skill he has shown after a few seasons in the Show, then he'd run rings
around the competition. None of the options in late April are close to his level right now, but that is part of the
mystery of the Draft. You seldom get a sure thing, but every year somebody gets one hell of a bargain. If you want a WR then
maybe one of the rookie candidates can be his equal, but it takes years of work and a bunch of risk. Higgins is already
proven and probably can continue to develop. Getting him for 46 represents a heist of massive proportions and Cincy
isn't that desperate.

Tell me that we get Tee Higgins and Darnell Wright and still have a shitload of choices to use and I'd tell you we just got won a
Draft that is not exactly loaded at either position. More on Wright later, but I haven't seen anybody that is on his level yet and yet he seems to
have some significant concerns for some. I liked Dawand Jones until I watched this guy and if he isn't a top 15 player and
definitely capable of playing of having a great career at OT, then I'm a blind homer. Wright is the guy we need and I'd race
to the podium at 14 to either take him or trade the pick for Higgins.

With a month to go, I'm not fired up over this Draft, but these scenarios would change that in a hurry and I don't care which.
Wright is awesome. I'd still take D. Jones over him, but Wright is my #3 OT in this draft. I'd much prefer to get him late in the first, after everyone overpays to get the top 3 LTs, or even Harrison, who I expect to bust.
 
Let's say that OT and WR are our biggest needs. Not an uncommon view.
With a month to go, I'm not fired up over this Draft, but these scenarios would change that in a hurry and I don't care which.

I'm getting that way.
After studying these WRs in this draft for the last 5 weeks, I'm not nearly as high on them now as I thought I'd be.
Truth is, I don't see any WR among the group worthy of the WR1 label. There are plenty of lighter Slots, WR2s, WR3s and niche players who may become productive after a year or 2.
This draft doesn't have a Ja'Mar Chase, Garrett Wilson or Chris Olave so forget that.

OT seems more likely than ever to me with our 1st pick whether it's a trade back or not.
CB is another position I see having good depth with a few real stars at the top and a lot of really capable players behind them.
 
The Cooks trade set the bar for what they could get in return for Hopkins, as the Cowboys only gave up a fifth-round pick this year and a sixth-rounder in 2024. Considering the similarities between Cooks and Hopkins in age and salary, Hopkins’ stock took a massive hit, seemingly eliminating teams from getting a trade done if the Cardinals refused to lower their asking price. Not only that, most teams are said to be under the impression that a trade now would just be for salary dump purposes.

In Jeff Howe’s latest piece for The Athletic, he discusses the Patriots as one of the teams with this belief which has led them to be out in acquiring Hopkins for now.

“With a new Cardinals regime, headed by GM Monti Ossenfort and coach Jonathan Gannon, rival teams know Hopkins would be a salary dump, which significantly reduces his trade value. That’s why teams like the Patriots, who had an early conversation with the Cardinals, don’t plan to pursue him unless there’s a substantial change in philosophy, according to a league source.”
It may not be news that Patriots fans want to hear, but this may force the Cardinals’ hand if they truly want to move on from Hopkins in the near future.

This also doesn’t eliminate the possibility of Belichick making a trade for Jerry Jeudy, their other prime target this offseason. Although they are running into a similar issue with Denver regarding their trade price, nothing is off the table regarding a deal getting done as of this moment.


The problem is I don't see Jeudy as a WR1. Maybe OBJ is IF he can stay healthy for an entire season but that's a huge gamble with him.
 
Let's say that OT and WR are our biggest needs. Not an uncommon view.

Then the game becomes how to fill both given the apparent bounty of the Draft. And that seems almost impossible
unless we get really lucky.

Tee Higgins for a 2nd would most likely be a far better option than anybody we could draft using 14 as our
ammunition. Were he a draft eligiible player showing the skill he has shown after a few seasons in the Show, then he'd run rings
around the competition. None of the options in late April are close to his level right now, but that is part of the
mystery of the Draft. You seldom get a sure thing, but every year somebody gets one hell of a bargain. If you want a WR then
maybe one of the rookie candidates can be his equal, but it takes years of work and a bunch of risk. Higgins is already
proven and probably can continue to develop. Getting him for 46 represents a heist of massive proportions and Cincy
isn't that desperate.

Tell me that we get Tee Higgins and Darnell Wright and still have a shitload of choices to use and I'd tell you we just got won a
Draft that is not exactly loaded at either position. More on Wright later, but I haven't seen anybody that is on his level yet and yet he seems to
have some significant concerns for some. I liked Dawand Jones until I watched this guy and if he isn't a top 15 player and
definitely capable of playing of having a great career at OT, then I'm a blind homer. Wright is the guy we need and I'd race
to the podium at 14 to either take him or trade the pick for Higgins.

With a month to go, I'm not fired up over this Draft, but these scenarios would change that in a hurry and I don't care which.
I agree with most of what you say, except the Higgins for a 2nd. There's no way they would let him gobfor a second. You would probably be looking at something like the Diggs trade, 1st ND a 3rd. The problem is that they really don't have to consider trading him until after this season, but by then it will be more difficult for them because everyone will know they can't afford to keep him. If they were smart they would move him now, they have basically three wrs that would be ones on many teams including Chase who is arguably the best in the league now.
 
I agree with most of what you say, except the Higgins for a 2nd. There's no way they would let him go for a second.

I was just riffing on your idea, which is why I wrote:

"Getting him for 46 would represent a heist of massive proportions and Cincy isn't that desperate".

I suppose I could have elaborated and said that Darnell Wright is being critiqued as a guy that might
have to move to Guard and I completely disagree. If he were to slip to 46 (unlikely, but possible) then I
wouldn't care which pick was used to get which guy. It would be incredibly lucky for us to get both.

Wright is awesome. I'd still take D. Jones over him, but Wright is my #3 OT in this draft. I'd much prefer to get him late in the first, after everyone overpays to get the top 3 LTs, or even Harrison, who I expect to bust.

I still like Jones, but after watching him a bunch I've decided that he does have some glaring technique issues with his feet and balance which may or
may not be fixable. I think he's still going to be a successful guy, but.....

Wright, to me, doesn't have any weaknesses that I can find and his feet look ridiculously good to go with a great anchor.

Hands seem to be the reason scouts are down on him. He has tiny, little hands but I figure that will just make it harder for the zebras to notice him holding because it
doesn't seem to affect his play in any way. He's not a Receiver.

Wright played mostly at RT, but I don't see any reason to limit him. He can be one of the best in the league quite soon, but, then again, I'm a blind homer, so
don't listen to me.

Listen to this guy:


View: https://youtu.be/mK2MfoKz00w
 
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