Do the Cleveland Browns know what they have in Rashard Higgins?
Hollywood starred for Williams and Stefanski, couldn’t play for Hue or Freddie.
The numbers show that Cleveland Browns receiver Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins performed at a star level when paired with the right coach and the right quarterback, but he did not perform for either Hue Jackson or Freddie Kitchens. His numbers in the Jackson and Kitchens eras were so poor that the team thought seriously about getting rid of him.
Yet when Gregg Williams replaced Jackson, and when Kevin Stefanski replaced Kitchens, whether by coincidence or by design, Higgins started getting more offensive snaps and started to produce at close to a Pro Bowl level. This is only a mild exaggeration. He’s a very credible receiver.
Once again, the team has a decision to make this offseason, when Hollywood is once again a free agent.
"“It means the world, I’ve been here through 0-16, 1-15 and to see everything turn around and us start winning and the things that we’re promised, I want to be here, I want to be a part of that. I love everything about Cleveland. This is where I was drafted, this is where I want to be. There’s no place like Cleveland.” –Rashard Higgins, quoted by Marla Ridenour. Akron Beacon Journal Sept 9, 2020"
To examine the record (see below), some of the favorite numbers this analyst uses are Total Yards From Scrimmage Per Snap (TYFS/Snap) and catch percentage. You cannot judge a player for how well he performed while he was sitting on the bench, because he did not have control over that.
But if he is on the field, did the quarterback depend on him or try to avoid him? Did he make big yards or not so many? All those factors are rolled into TYFS/Snap. Catch percentage tells how often the receiver came down with the ball once the quarterback decided to launch the ball at him.
What it does not tell us is whether he was the first, second, or third wide receiver. It’s much more difficult to earn a living as a number one wide receiver in the NFL because those players have to face the very best defensive backs, and often double teams.
Higgins is usually perceived to be the second or third most dangerous wide receiver and usually not the fastest. Hence, he may have some more favorable matchups, so let’s not kid ourselves when we compare the numbers against Landry’s or OBJ’s. You have to use the eyeball test as well as the looking at the numbers because the numbers do not tell you who is being covered by the top cover corner.
That said, Higgins’ stats are eyepopping because his numbers were atrocious for Hue Jackson and for Freddie Kitchens, but he operated at a star level for Gregg Williams and for Kevin Stefanski. Something changed.
Let’s review his career, but before we get into it, realize that the story has a positive ending, so don’t get disgusted and quit reading during the low points in 2016, 2017, and 2019. The story does not end there. He put up outstanding numbers in 2018 and 2020.
TYFS/Snapp of .421 in 2016 and .477 in 2017 and .320 in 2019 is not good enough to stay in the NFL. However, he was twice as productive in 2018, with most of the production coming when Gregg Williams took over for Hue Jackson.
He hit almost the same numbers for Kevin Stefanski in 2020. This isn’t a fluke, and Higgins’ career is just another sign that the team made a mistake when they switched from Gregg Williams to Freddie Kitchens in 2019, and they made the right move in hiring Kevin Stefanski in 2020.
Year Age G TYFS SNAPS TYFS/Snap Catch pct TD Fmb
2016 22 16 77 183 0.421 50.0% 0 0
2017 23 15 316 663 0.477 54.0% 2 1
2018 24 13 572 483 1.184 73.6% 4 2
2019 25 10 55 172 0.320 36.4% 1 0
2020 26 13 599 502 1.193 71.2% 4 3
Career 67 1619 2003 0.808 63.5% 11 6
Let’s take a look at how Higgins’ career has progressed, starting with this rookie year of 2016, when he was a rookie receiver for a team with the weakest wide receiving corps in the NFL.