It was reported early Tuesday morning that the Cincinnati Bengals were bringing in former New York Giants and current free agent wide receiver Hakeem Nicks for a workout, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter). Nicks played in 6 games last season for the Giants, one year after playing in all 16 the year before for the Indianapolis Colts. In those 6 games, Nicks caught only 7 passes last season.
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This news comes after the signing of former Patriots wide out Brandon LaFell.
Nicks’ best season came in 2010 with the Giants when he pulled in 79 catches for 1052 yards and 11 touchdowns on a 128 targets. Since 2012 though, Nicks has been highly ineffective and has disappointed both the Giants and Colts.
Former Giants WR Hakeem Nicks tried out today for Cincinnati Bengals, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 5, 2016
Even with the signing of LaFell, the Bengals are trying to put a band-aid on a gun shot wound at the wide receiver position. LaFell was notorious in New England for his consistently bad hands and terrible drops. I am not going to label it as a bad signing at this point in time, but the Bengals can not be serious about LaFell being the second option next season.
Taking Nicks into consideration may be a mistake as well. Even in his best statistical season, he only had a catch percentage of 60 percent. Neither Nicks or LaFell are solidified second options, but both would be good veteran roster pieces to play behind AJ Green and a rookie that they find in the draft. If the Bengals want to repeat as AFC North Champions, they will have to find a guy that can fill the second receiver slot perfectly.
Considering the shape of the team, the smartest move the Bengals could make is take a wide receiver in the second round in this year’s draft. With the defensive talent and lack of offensive talent in this year’s prospect pool, the ideal move would be to take a defensive playmaker in the first round and address the need at wide receiver as soon as possible in the second round; even if it means trading up for a guy like Josh Doctson or Corey Coleman.