When it comes to making plays and bringing in the football in one-on-one situations, there’s not many NFL receivers that were as good as these two former Clemson stars last season.
Pro Football Focus this week published a list of the 10 best wide receivers against single coverage from the 2022 season, according to PFF receiving grade.
Former Tigers Mike Williams of the Los Angeles Chargers and Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals both made the list, ranking among the top five.
With a 93.7 PFF receiving grade vs. single coverage, Williams is ranked in a tie for first with only A.J. Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles and Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins.
“Williams missed four games and played only six snaps in another as he battled through injury in 2022, but he excelled when he was on the field,” PFF’s Zach Tantillo wrote. “The sixth-year receiver hauled in 14 contested catches against single coverage in 2022, the second-most at the position.”
Higgins isn’t far behind Williams and checks in at No. 4 on the list with a 93.0 PFF receiving grade vs. single coverage.
“With much of the attention on teammate Ja’Marr Chase, Higgins was able to see plenty of single coverage in 2022 — and he feasted,” Tantillo wrote. “Along with ranking fourth in receiving grade against single coverage, Higgins ranked second in both passer rating when targeted (144.4) and touchdown receptions (7) on those one-on-one looks.”
This past season, Higgins posted 74 receptions for 1,029 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 games, while Williams hauled in 63 catches for 895 yards and four scores in 13 games.
In three NFL seasons since being selected by the Bengals in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Higgins has caught 215 passes for 3,028 yards and 19 touchdowns. Williams, meanwhile, has amassed 290 receptions for 4,557 yards and 30 touchdowns since being taken by the Chargers in the first round of the 2017 draft.
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