Back end of Bengals' wide receiver room stepping up in training camp
The Bengals wide receiver room is arguably the best position group from top to bottom on the team and one of the best in the NFL.
A.J. Green, Tee Higgins and John Ross were all out this past week, but that didn’t slow down No. 1 pick Joe Burrow and the offense.
Auden Tate, Alex Erickson, and Mike Thomas all stepped up big in their own way.
Tate caught Burrow’s first two touchdown passes in Friday’s scrimmage. He also had an impressive grab on 3rd-and-14 to keep the drive alive.
"You can't just say he's a red-zone player. He's a three-down guy for you," Zac Taylor said. ”It's not about exploring with Auden Tate. He has proven, on the film last year and the way he goes about his business that he can a lot for you as an offense."
He’s entering his third NFL season. He’s hoping to build off of the 40 receptions and 575 yards he had in 2019. Even with the depth in the receiver room, Tate could be a sleeper in this offense.
Erickson is in a battle for one of the final roster spots on the roster. Like Tate, he took advantage of the extra snaps he received on Friday.
Erickson made an acrobatic touchdown grab. He also had two other catches for 39 yards, including a 27-yard gain from Ryan Finley.
Thomas has made the most of his opportunities too. He received first-team reps throughout the week and in Friday’s scrimmage. He was on the receiving end of one of Burrow’s three scrimmage touchdown passes too.
Higgins is close to returning after being limited last week with a hamstring injury. Ross should be back on the field soon. The team is waiting for him to pass COVID-19 protocol. He flew to California after his 3-year-old son tested positive for the virus. He’s back in Cincinnati and could be back on the field as soon as Sunday.
Green’s status is still unclear, but he did some rehab work on Friday inside Paul Brown Stadium. The team insists that his hamstring injury isn’t serious.
With the first-team receivers returning, each snap will be vital for the guys on the back-end of the receiver group to prove their value to the team.
"We have a lot of really good examples of that on our football team right now,” Taylor said. "Of guys that fit that description. And the guys that fit that description bring everyone else along with them. It’s such a good culture. You get here in the morning and see guys getting in extra work. It's a really good environment to be around every day for the players.”
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