Cincinnati Bengals: 15 greatest wide receivers of all-time
By John Buhler
The Cincinnati Bengals have had a very strong history at the wide receiver position. Here are the 15 best wide receivers to ever call the Queen City home.
The Cincinnati Bengals played their first season as a professional football franchise back in 1968. Founded by former Cleveland Browns head coach Paul Brown, the Bengals would soon join the Browns in the NFL as part of the merger ahead of the 1970 NFL season.
Though the 2018 NFL season, the Bengals have qualified for the AFC playoffs 14 times, won their division nine times and represented the AFC twice in the Super Bowl during the 1980s. While a Lombardi Trophy evades this proud AFC franchise, one thing that the Bengals have been rich with in their history has been at the wide receiver position.
While no former longtime Bengals wideout has ever been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, they have almost always had a Pro Bowl level playmaker outside to haul in touchdown grabs. Cincinnati is the birth place of Bill Walsh’s iconic West Coast offense, made most famous with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s.
Sam Wyche also made famous the no-huddle offense nearly a decade later with Boomer Esiason under center. Both of these offenses led to Super Bowl berths in 1981 and 1988, respectively.
Overall, Cincinnati has rarely had a problem moving the sticks in the passing game. Frankly, it’s in their DNA as a football franchise. It helps having the likes of solid quarterbacks like Esiason, Ken Anderson, Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton slinging the pigskin on fall Sundays. Without further ado, here are the 15 greatest wide receivers in Bengals franchise history.
Honorable Mentions: Don Bass, Tyler Boyd, Billy Brooks, Andre Caldwell, Eric Crabtree, Charlie Joiner, Brandon LaFell, Terrell Owens, Jerome Simpson, Speedy Thomas