2017 Rams Roster Preview: TE Tyler Higbee, The Man With The Plan

Los Angeles Rams TE Tyler Higbee enters year two with an expected jump that should be one of the biggest on the team.

Though drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Higbee was fully expected to be a second-round draft pick before his run in with the law after a bar fight making him one of the more talented tight ends on the team.

This year, the Rams added Gerald Everett in the 2017 NFL Draft in round two, their first selection of the draft. That shouldn’t affect Higbee’s role in a tight end-friendly offense.

It’s time for Higbee to be the man.

Roster Battle

There’s not much of a battle to be had here.

Higbee and Everett are going to be the top two tight ends on the roster. Second-year tight end Temarrick Hemingway is about the only tight end on the roster that stands a chance of surprising and stealing targets, and even that is a long shot. Everett was the Rams’ first pick of the draft, but should settle into the number two tight end role, leaving the top spot open for Higbee.

Expectations

In Head Coach Sean McVay’s tight end-friendly offense Higbee will be one of the focal points of the pass game. He should see a massive improvement in his overall performance, and 85-100 targets are a legit possibility, especially when you consider he and QB Jared Goff hit it off from day one as roommates and worked out a lot with one another over the offseason. The chemistry should be uncanny, and I fully expect Goff to look his way early and often.

Chances of Making Final Roster (10/10)

He ain’t going nowhere. Nope, na’un, no way, no how….