Philadelphia Eagles versus Cincinnati: 2 Reasons to start Trevor Williams

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Tee Higgins (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

1. Tee Higgins creates a difficult matchup for the Philadelphia Eagles secondary.

While Green and Boyd can certainly do some damage, the real concern in terms of matchups is at the other outside spot. It will likely be rookie Tee Higgins lining up there most of the time who was right up there in the Clemson record books with DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins.

Despite a small workload in Week 1 (15 snaps), he saw the field more in Week 2 (60 snaps). Joe Burrow targeted him six times and connected on three of those for 35 yards. Regardless of the numbers, it feels like this could be the start of something special if both Burrow and Higgins develop into the stars they can potentially be.

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Higgins towers over most corners at six-foot-four and was considered one of the best receivers in the draft at winning 50-50 throws. Higgins likes to be physical and use his size and strength to beat his opponent. Burrow will give his receivers a chance to make a contested catch from time to time as he did with receivers like Justin Jefferson, Terrace Marshall, and Ja’Marr Chase at LSU. There’s a good chance that Higgins will have a long NFL career if he continues to use his size and strength effectively, and he’ll be learning under a teammate in A.J. Green who has been one of the best at it in recent years when healthy.

This does not bode well for Avonte Maddox who comes in at just five-foot-nine and 184 pounds. compared to Higgins at six-foot-four, 216-pounds. Maddox struggled versus rookie receiver Van Jefferson last week who is a bit more of a route runner than Higgins is but still has a size advantage over Maddox. Despite the hype, Maddox’s Week 1 performance wasn’t that impressive either. He got taken advantage of in most of the snaps he was on the field for.

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