Tee Higgins learned a very tough lesson Thursday night

Tee Higgins and Clemson football fans got a reminder on the difference between our thoughts and those that run NFL teams last night during the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Former Clemson football wide receiver Tee Higgins declared for the NFL draft after his junior year ended. Like many other players across the country, he had high hopes of hearing his name called by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during the first round.

Instead, he was given a dose of heartbreak and reality by NFL teams as a team after team passed the highly skilled and talented 21-year-old receiver.

To make things even tougher on Tee, he had to watch as six receivers were taken between the 12th pick when Alabama’s Henry Ruggs III was chosen by the Raiders through the 25th pick when the 49ers took Arizona State standout Brandon Aiyuk had his name called.

Coming into Thursday night’s first round, most experts expected Tee to be the fifth receiver chosen after Ruggs, Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, and LSU’s Justin Jefferson. Not many expected to see TCU’s Jalen Reagor come off the board before Higgins, but that is exactly what happens.

The silver lining in all of this for Higgins is that he will come off the board fairly quickly in the second round and could end up with a team like the Patriots in the top half the round.

The biggest question becomes why did he drop as he did? Well, a lot of that comes from not performing in the NFL combine and then having a so-so pro day and there were no team workouts for him to show what he was capable of. Every receiver that went before him bad much better workouts and gave scouts and general managers something to see in person besides game tape.

It is tough to be learned for sure, but it will make Tee Higgins a better person in the long run and better player for whichever team is lucky enough to call his name.