Terrance Ferguson is dealing with an ankle injury, which theoretically hands Tyler Higbee the Rams tight end job outright. The catch is that the job comes with a trip to Philadelphia, and the Eagles have been smothering the position. Find out whether you should start or sit Tyler Higbee in Week 4.
Tyler Higbee Start or Sit Advice for Week 4
Higbee’s case starts with his last time on the field. He returned from a Week 2 absence and drew 11 targets at Denver, catching eight for 62 yards and a touchdown with six first downs. Ferguson was active in that game and drew two.
Read his season numbers by the games he played rather than the team’s three. Across his two appearances Higbee holds 17.1% of the Rams targets, and in the Denver game alone he carried 22.4%. The vault’s season figure spreads his work across a game he missed, which understates the role.
The volume is there to support him. Los Angeles throws 38.0 times per game and funnels 33.0% of its targets to tight ends, which is a healthy rate for the position. With Ferguson out and Colby Parkinson listed day to day with knee and shoulder issues, the four-way rotation that has capped this room all season could narrow to Higbee and Davis Allen.
The Biggest Fantasy Risk for Tyler Higbee in Week 4
Philadelphia is the problem, and it is a serious one. The Eagles have allowed 6.6 PPR points per game to tight ends against a league figure of 13.7. They have conceded no touchdowns to the position, just 29.7 yards per game, and only 6.0 air yards per game, meaning tight ends are not being allowed to work past the line of scrimmage at all.
The usual caveat applies with less force than you might hope. Philadelphia has faced Washington, Tennessee and Chicago, offenses throwing 14% below the league average, so the raw total is flattered. But the shape of what they allow concerns me more than the volume. Holding tight ends to 6.0 air yards per game is a scheme outcome, and Higbee already works near the line of scrimmage at 7.4 yards per reception.
That collision defines his week. His 11-target game produced only 62 yards, so his value depends on receptions and a touchdown rather than yardage, and Philadelphia has given up neither scores nor room underneath. There is a receiver question too. Higbee’s 11 targets came with Puka Nacua out, while his two-target game came in a week Nacua drew nine. Nacua is limited with a hip injury and has no designation yet, so a return trims the volume Higbee inherits.
Fantasy Outlook for Tyler Higbee in Week 4
Start Higbee in Week 4, but only in deeper formats and only if you need the receptions. He clears the bar by a hair, and every bit of that comes from opportunity rather than the matchup. He is the clear lead tight end on a team that throws often and feeds the position, which is worth something.
If you have a comparable tight end facing a softer defense, play that one instead. Philadelphia has not allowed a touchdown to a tight end all season and does not let the position get downfield, and Higbee needs one of those two things to give. The reception floor is the whole reason to use him. Watch Nacua’s Friday status, because a return pushes this toward a bench call.
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