Gambling on Tyler Higbee paying off in big way for Rams during Super Bowl 53 run

The decision to select Tyler Higbee in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft has been paying off in a big way for the Los Angeles Rams.

Once the Los Angeles Rams officially get Super Bowl 53 underway on Sunday against the New England Patriots, all eyes will be on which players on both sides of the football have what it takes to step up for their beloved team when needed the most.

One more win is all the Rams need to officially be crowned Super Bowl 53 champions, and while fans expect players like Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald to come through on their end, Los Angeles also has a few secret weapons that could give the Patriots some surprise trouble.

Take a look at Tyler Higbee for instance, as the tight end arguably made his biggest impact when the Rams needed it the most during the NFC Championship after hauling in four catches for 25 yards with a touchdown.

As Rams fans know, that Higbee touchdown came late in the third quarter while the team was trying to overcome a 10-point deficit before eventually going on to win the game in overtime to officially punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.

During his senior year at Western Kentucky, the eight touchdown catches by Higbee made him an attractive option heading into the 2016 NFL Draft before some off the field issues leading up to the big day led to some concerns by numerous teams.

Without question, if it weren’t for these issues by Higbee, chances are the tight end would have been selected in the second or third round instead of falling to the fourth round, although Los Angeles is pretty glad to see it work out the way it did.

Higbee’s numbers may not be as explosive as some of the other great pass-catching tight ends across the league, but also keep in mind that a result of this is due to all the weapons Jared Goff already has to work with in the passing game.

It would be one thing if Los Angeles were struggling at receiver, but with Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods leading one of the strongest units in the NFL, Goff doesn’t necessarily need to rely on Higbee as much as a receiver.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Goff doesn’t try to avoid using Higbee since the NFC Championship was the perfect example of the kind of impact he can make when given the opportunity.

Since the Patriots will most likely be focusing most of their attention on the whereabouts of other key players on offense for the Rams, Higbee could find himself in another one of those positions where the tight end sees a few extra passes thrown in his direction during the Super Bowl.

At least if this happens to be the case, Higbee has proven to the Rams he can be relied on, and that previous gamble to go with him in the fourth round back in 2016 already seems to be working wonders for Los Angeles on offense.