The fantasy football playoffs are officially underway, and for anyone unfortunate enough to go against Kyle Pitts on Thursday night, their week got off to a rough start.
And for anyone with Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals, they will now have to find an alternative option, as he's been ruled out with a concussion for the Bengals' Week 15 game against the Baltimore Ravens, according to Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer.
With Higgins now out, what should fantasy managers do with the Bengals' receivers? Fortunately, there's a great example of what the Bengals offense with Joe Burrow and an offense without Higgins will look like from just two weeks ago.
What fantasy managers should do with Bengals receivers after Tee Higgins' news
Just a few weeks ago, during the Thanksgiving night matchup between the Bengals and Ravens, Cincinnati's offense played with Burrow and no Higgins.
It was a dominant 32-14 win for the Bengals, as Burrow went 24-of-46 for 261 passing yards and two touchdowns. Chase Brown ran for 78 yards on 15 attempts and also caught seven passes for 35 yards.
Both Burrow and Brown are great starting options this week for the first round of the fantasy football playoffs. But, beyond those two and the must-start Ja'Marr Chase, the rest of the Bengals' receivers are intriguing options.
While Andrei Iosivas will take up a lot of attention as a waiver add or Flex play, there might be a few others worth considering.
Mike Gesicki could be a viable tight end this week, as he's coming off an impressive six-catch, 86-yard, and one touchdown performance against the Buffalo Bills. He wouldn't be the worst tight end for fantasy managers in a pinch.
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Against the Ravens in Week 13, he caught just two passes for 19 yards on four targets. Iosivas wasn't much better, catching one of two targets for just 29 yards and a touchdown.
But the most intriguing option this week for fantasy managers in dire straits could be Mitchell Tinsley. In this last Bengals-Ravens matchup, with Higgins on the sideline, Tinsley received the second-most targets on the team.
Burrow targeted Tinsley nine times against the Ravens, and while he caught just two for 22 yards, his large target volume cannot be ignored.
He didn't receive any work in Week 14 against the Bills, but he's seen a solid target volume in the previous two weeks when one of Higgins or Chase was out.
Relying on Tinsley is a massive risk, but in deep leagues and with barren waiver wires, Tinsley is likely available and could be a sneaky good play this week in the fantasy football playoffs.
But, for most fantasy managers, only Ja'Marr Chase and Chase Brown are worth starting this week. Tinsley, Gesicki, and Iosivas are deeper-league options that, for the most part, should not see lineups this week.
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