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Taking Malik Nabers with the sixth pick in the 2024 NFL draft doesn’t mean the New York Giants should be finished boosting their talent at wide receiver. Not if there’s a chance they could acquire two-time 1,000-yard Cincinnati Bengals’ receiver Tee Higgins for a modest trade price.
It’s a scenario outlined during an edition of “The Rico Report” for Bleacher Report. Host Rico believes the Giants could snag Higgins for as little as a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft.
Rico acknowledges the value looks low: “Most folks would say ‘whoa, whoa! Just a fourth?’ I’m thinking just a fourth at this point, it can obviously move up to a third, but to me, right now the fourth, everybody is trying to hold onto draft picks here, but he’s worth it.”
Higgins would be “worth it” as a playmaker who tallied back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2021 and ’22. The 6-foot-4, 219-pounder is the kind of big-bodied wideout the Giants lack, even after adding Nabers.
As Rico pointed out, Nabers’ presence would be a key factor in making this trade work for the Giants: “Having a young player come on alongside Tee Higgins, I think that could be a big-time duo in the NFC East.”
Pairing Nabers with a proven commodity like Higgins would instantly transform a stale passing game. It would also increase the pressure on quarterback Daniel Jones to deliver.
Tee Higgins Trade Would Give Daniel Jones No Excuses
Jones could hardly cite a lack of weapons if he still struggled after Higgins’ arrival. Higgins would be the established deep threat on the perimeter Jones has lacked for too long.
Getting behind the last line of coverage has long been a speciality for Higgins. He showed off the talent with this deep grab against the San Francisco 49ers last season, highlighted by Mike of All Bengals.
It was a rare bright moment for Higgins during a season when he missed five games with rib and hamstring injuries. When he did play, the 25-year-old still proved his worth as a vertical playmaker.
Higgins’ flair for getting vertical was best summed up when he had eight targets of 10-plus yards against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15, per Next Gen Stats. He turned those targets into four catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns.
This offseason has been dominated by trade talk after Higgins requested to be dealt in response to getting the franchise tag. The wideout was named a trade target for the Giants back in March, but the Bengals were subsequently deemed “resolute on having Higgins return this season in an attempt to win the Super Bowl,” according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic.
The player even responded, “We’ll see. I do anticipate it,” when asked by Joe Danneman of Fox19 on April 14 if he anticipates playing for the Bengals this year.
Things might have changed since, following the selection of Alabama’s Jermaine Burton in this year’s third round. As Rico put it, “You drafted Burton, you got a No. 1 in Chase. And you get your quarterback back.”
The Bengals will still be competitive, so Rico thinks if they’re not going to pay Higgins long term, they should “try to get something going for him.”
There’s incentive for the Giants to help the Bengals make it happen, despite the addition of Nabers.
Malik Nabers Will Need Help
Using a top-10 pick on Nabers was the right move for the Giants. He gives them a receiver with transformational speed who can create big plays from multiple spots.
One of Nabers’ best traits “is his ability to transition to becoming a ball carrier after the catch,” per CBS Sports’ Dan Schneier.
Creating quick and easy throws to put Nabers into space will be a priority for Jones and Giants’ head coach Brian Daboll. The latter already has multiple ways to get slot specialist Wan’Dale Robinson the ball, but Nabers is a more explosive option.
Neither will fill the role of towering target on the perimeter the Giants still lack. It’s a problem that could be solved by an undrafted version of Drake London, but acquiring Higgins would be closer to a sure thing.
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