Amongst the debacle that was the Raiders' 2008 season, there were a few bright spots. One of them being wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins. Although he didn't throw up impressive stats as a receiver (only 366 yards), it was his return game that was electric.
Last year he was a fumble-happy rookie who only caught two more passes then he gave away (6 catches vs. 4 fumbles). This past season he led the receiving corps with 22 catches, 366 receiving yards, and was the team leader in receiving touchdowns with 4. While those numbers aren't dazzling, keep in mind that Oakland's receivers weren't doing squat until Higgins started getting the ball.
Higgins only started 3 games and didn't even see substantial play time until the final 4 weeks of the season, yet he outperformed every other receiver on the team. In the last 4 weeks of the season he had 14 catches for 196 yards and scored 3 touchdown. Wide receiver Ronald Curry, who had 10 starts this past season, caught only 5 more balls for the entire year than Higgins did in the final 4 weeks. Higgins even had more receiving yards (bested Curry by 15) and one more touchdown during that time than Curry had all season.
However, his return game was really where it was at. Higgins led the entire NFL in the 2008 regular season with 576 punt return yards. He also led the league with most returns over 20 and 40 yards. To top it all off, he had the longest punt return of the 2008 NFL season with his 93 yarder vs the Dolphins.
And let's not forget... he only had one fumble all year (week vs Carolina). Higgins has had a miraculous turnaround that could lead him to the Pro Bowl if he keeps it up.
