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Tyler Higbee, Western Kentucky, TE: 2016 NFL Draft Profile

Brandon Doughty gets all the pub when it comes to the successes of WKU's offense, and righty so, but one of his weapons is a better draft prospect, and Tyler Higbee could become quite the NFL player.

By FletchTopper
Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler Higbee

College: Western Kentucky

Position: Tight end

Height/Weight: 6-5/233

College Stats: 68 receptions, 1,054 receiving yards, 14 touchdowns, 15.5 yards per play

Brandon Doughty was the face of the WKU offense, and rightly so. But, under every great man is his security blanket, and that's exactly what Higbee was for Doughty. If the Tops needed a big conversion, or a a big chunk of yards, more often than not Higbee was the man to turn to, and more often than not, he would come through. Even thought Doughty was the man behind the offense, it's been Higbee who, for a couple of years now, has been spoken of more highly in terms of potential NFL Draft prospect. Welp, here we are!

Pros:

Higbee is just smooth as all get out, man. He dropped just one pass this year and is just a monster on the field. He averaged 15.5 yards per play over his four years on the Hill, got to learn under Jack Doyle (now with the Indianapolis Colts) and Mitchell Henry (who's now with the Denver Broncos) before he got to truly take over the show. WKU has a "next-man-up," tradition - as good as Doyle was, and as really good as Henry was, Higbee is even better. More so an offensive weapon than an asset (that is, he's more useful to give the ball to as opposed to blocking, since he is a converted wide receiver), he's drawn comparisons to Jordan Cameron and Ladarius Green.

Cons:

Legal issues aside, many people don't think Higbee is strong enough to be used as a blocker at the NFL level quite yet (which, to compare to Doyle, is what he does about 90% of the time with Indy, used as the H-back most times). Also, Higbee was limited to close the 2016 season due to knee injuries, and that could scare teams away, especially for a guy who's main value is getting yards after the catch. Having said that, Higbee still turned in a year with 38 receptions for 563 yards and eight scores.

Who's gonna take him, and where?

Unlike guys in the past, like Bobby Rainey, Doyle and even Doughty this year, Higbee is NFL ready right now, and could feasibly start at second on the depth chart, if not be the starting man if a team desperately needs someone. He's being looked at by some good teams - the Bengals have scouted him, the Packers have drawn interest and I even saw something about maybe the Patriots even being interested. If you asked me three weeks ago, I say Higbee goes in the late third/early fourth rounds. But now, in light of his legal issues (which I won't discuss here), I think he slides, but not as far as some think. He'll still go before the sixth. Lets say, just to make things interesting, Higbee goes

In the beginning of the fifth round to the Cincinnati Bengals.

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