Let me describe to you a WR from last season:
Averaged 17.9 Sig PPG (9th)
Was the WR4 in games that he fully played
Was the 2nd-most consistent WR in fantasy (0.322 Sig CR)
Averaged 2.976 points per touch (8th)
Posted 10+ points in every game he fully played
Posted 12+ points in all but one game he fully played
Where do you think that player is being drafted: 1st round? Top of the 2nd? At least as a top-10 WR, right?
You'd be wrong if you said yes to any of those three questions. Tee Higgins, one of the most prolific fantasy WRs in 2022, is going in the 3rd round and as a WR2 in drafts.
In any other offense, Higgins is unanimously being considered as a top-10 WR for fantasy football, but the fact that he has Ja'Marr Chase opposite him leaves Higgins receiving far less recognition than he is deserving of. As a matter of fact, in games where Higgins and Chase both played (8), they posted near-identical numbers (Chase with 18.8 PPG, Higgins with 17.4 PPG) and Higgins was the top-scoring Bengals' receiver in half of the outings.
While Higgins should by no means be drafted ahead of Chase (as he doesn't offer the top-end upside as Chase does), he does offer far better draft day value, going in the 3rd round (3.01) as the WR14 off the board on ADP and an even more appealing mid-3rd round (3.04) price on ECR. At that price, Higgins is a perfect target in the 3rd round.
The only reason he's not being talked about more is his heavily distorted 2022 stats, both on a per-game and overall basis. Higgins' was active for but saw no action in two games in 2022, exiting early in a Week 5 matchup against Baltimore after aggravating a pre-existing ankle injury in the first half (0 targets prior to exiting) and being "active" but not playing at all in a Week 14 game against Cleveland after tweaking a hamstring pre-game. These two games alone where he was "active", but did not play, dropped his PPG by 2.7 points. If you take out the Bengals/Bills game that was stopped early on due to the Damar Hamlin situation, his PPG difference between what he actually produced vs what his season-ending totals showed was over 4.1 PPG.
So with Higgins, you're getting WR1-level production, top-tier consistency, and the ability to get him in the late-2nd/3rd round - something that can't be understated. At that price, you have the ability to load up on an elite-RB1 and a high-end RB2 while still securing a WR1-level player in Higgins or go with what likely would be the best WR duo in your league in a WR1 with Higgins as an elite WR2. Either way, Higgins gives you the draft day flexibility to mold your roster in a way that few WRs, and virtually zero other WR2s, provide.
He gives you everything you are looking for in a WR at a value - elite consistency, quality production, and great DB matchups (with Chase consistently drawing opposing teams' top corners). He's very quietly a solid WR1 for a WR2 price tag and is a must-target on draft day.