Will Tyler Higbee Live Up to High Expectations During Second Year With Los Angeles Rams?

Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead recently praised Tyler Higbee while setting high expectations for the tight end during his second season.

Thanks to an arrest that took place last April, the Los Angeles Rams realized they were taking a risk on former Western Kentucky standout Tyler Higbee after selecting the tight end in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Clearly, the last thing the Rams wanted to deal with was bring on a player that was going to be a problem off the football field, but luckily that doesn’t appear to be the case for Higbee.

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Even though he was limited to only 11 catches as a rookie for 85 yards with a touchdown, expectations are high for Higbee entering his sophomore season with Los Angeles, especially with new head coach Sean McVay calling the shots on offense. As ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez recently pointed out, the Washington Redskins led the league in 2016  when it came to receiving yards from tight ends when McVay was the offense coordinator, which is why Les Snead expects a big year from his beloved tight end.

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Now that Lance Kendricks is officially out of the picture after joining the Green Bay Packers following his release from the Rams, Higbee should be able to take advantage of seeing more action on the football field in 2017. Jared Goff is going to need all of the help he can get on offense if he’s going to have any chance of elevating his game to the next level, and when considering Higbee caught eight touchdowns during his senior year at Western Kentucky, he could turn into a valuable option in the passing game.

A majority of successful offenses in the NFL have an effective pass-catching tight end, and if all goes according to plan, Higbee has the chance to turn out to play that type of role for the Rams next season. There’s a reason why Snead and the rest of the organization was willing to take the risk on Higbee, and if he does live up to the hype, he could turn out to be one of the biggest steals from last year’s draft.