Tee Higgins trade shakes up Bengals 7-round 2024 NFL mock draft

Every Cincinnati Bengals fan will wait with bated breath throughout the 2024 NFL Draft. Could the team really trade wide receiver Tee Higgins to the highest bidder?

Higgins is currently taking up nearly $22 million on the Bengals' overall salary cap due to being slapped with the franchise tag earlier this offseason. The former second-round pick out of Clemson obviously is going to want to be properly compensated for his production over the course of four seasons in the NFL, but the Bengals gave quarterback Joe Burrow a historic contract and will have to pay Ja'Marr Chase in the near future.

If the Bengals can't work out a long-term deal with Higgins prior to the 2024 NFL Draft, he could be the subject of one of the biggest trades of draft weekend. Let's take a look at what that kind of scenario could look like for the Cincinnati Bengals.

1. 18th overall: Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU

When in doubt, I suppose the Bengals could just keep on going back to the LSU well, right?

The Bengals already have Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, and while Brian Thomas Jr. wasn't out there on that vaunted 2019 roster, he could fit nicely in Cincinnati with some fellow LSU alumni.

Thomas is elite in every athletic category and put those traits to good use in his final season for the Tigers, racking up a whopping 17 touchdown catches (to lead all FBS receivers) and 17.3 yards per reception in total. He was named third-team All-American and showed out at the NFL Combine with a blazing 4.33 in the 40-yard dash, a 38.5-inch vertical jump, and all of this with a 6-foot-3, 209-pound frame.

Having Thomas in the fold would make a Tee Higgins trade much more justifiable.