Cincinnati Bengals: 3 storylines for preseason Week 1 at the Chiefs

While the defense has been a good and intriguing story so far, the one group that Taylor has to get a solid read on is his stable of pass-catchers. Week 1 of the preseason has to show not just progress, but a blueprint for how his receivers room breaks down.

With A.J. Green proving to be brittle, both Tyler Boyd and John Ross will have to do the heavy lifting. The balance of the depth chart will be where Taylor has his eyes. Auden Tate, Darius Phillips, Josh Malone, and Damien Willis will have opportunities to impress. That’s important for Taylor, who will be evaluated early and often not just in August, but over the course of this season.

The Bengals are at an interesting and critical crossroads. With a young coach taking over for a Cincinnati icon, the preseason may be more important than ever. Taylor will need to see a lot from his offense even in the exhibition season. If he is to have any hope of being anything other than a cellar-dweller in 2019, these games should matter.

The same goes for Dalton. Regardless of how much or how little he plays in the preseason, Cincinnati needs to find what comes next after Green. In an offense that may borrow much from the dynamics of Los Angeles, the depth chart that is the Bengals receivers will have a lot to prove.