Wide receiver Auden Tate was one of quarterback Joe Burrow’s favorite targets for the Bengals in the offseason.
In training camp, it seemed as if Auden Tate was Joe Burrow’s favorite target. Burrow loves that Tate can catch almost anything that is thrown in reach of his 6-foot-5 wingspan. Not only was Tate coming down with a lot of receptions, but he was also catching touchdowns it seemed in every single scrimmage the Bengals had.
Tate is the red-zone target Cincinnati has been missing
With A.J. Green being injured the past couple of years and letting Tyler Eifert walk, the Bengals have been missing that red-zone target that they used to have in Eifert or Green. The Bengals loved to throw to Eifert so much in the red zone that he finished second in red-zone touchdowns in 2015 with eight.
Tate is the perfect red-zone target, Tate is 6-foot-5 along with a 6-foot-5 wingspan. Who else is 6-foot-5 and has a huge wingspan? Mike Evans, Tampa Bay’s star wideout has been one of the league’s most dangerous red-zone targets for years now. Evans is leading the league in 2020 with seven red-zone TD receptions
Cincinnati should utilize Tate just like Tampa Bay utilizes Evans. If Cincinnati utilizes Tate how Tampa utilizes Evans, he just may find his way into one of the league’s most dangerous red-zone targets.
Auden Tate ended 11-on-11 with a circus TD catch. Joe Burrow just threw it up to him. #Bengals
— Tyler Dragon (@TheTylerDragon) August 24, 2020
Auden Tate performs when he gets a reasonable snap count
We saw it last year when A.J. Green went down, Tate finished second on the team with 575 receiving yards and was able to haul in 40 receptions, along with one TD. During the 2019 season, it seemed after every week we were talking about an amazing catch that Tate made.
Some of the passes he was able to catch only a couple of other star receivers would have been able to replicate them. This year we haven’t seen a lot of Tate. Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Green, and Mike Thomas have been seeing most of the snaps at wide receiver for the Bengals.
Through the first seven weeks of the NFL season, Tate’s highest snap count was 39 percent.
No official snap counts from yesterday's CIN-PIT yet. But per NFL Next Gen, rookie Tee Higgins led all Bengals WR at 85.9%. A.J. Green at 82.8%, Tyler Boyd 79.7%.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) November 16, 2020
Mike Thomas saw an uptick at 26.6%, while Auden Tate was at 18.8%.
A.J. Green should lose some snaps
Boyd and Higgins deserve to keep their snap counts where they are at due to their production, but Green and especially Thomas should lose some snaps to Tate. In week eight against the Tennessee Titans, Cincinnati finally gave Tate a reasonable about of snaps with 45 percent.
Tate finished the game with the most receptions on the team with seven, along with 65 yards. Green on the other hand had 85 percent of the snaps, while only finishing the game with two receptions and 19 yards.
In week 10 Cincinnati once again barely gave Tate any snaps, he finished the game with only 19 percent of the snaps played. Once again Green saw a lot of snaps, playing 83 percent of them. What did green do while being on the field for that long? Nothing, Green had another lackluster game finishing with zero receptions.
Tate who only played 19 percent of the snaps performed better then Green, who played 83 percent of the snaps. Tate finished the game with two receptions for 24 yards. The Bengals have a very solid all-around receiver and could become one of the NFL’s most dangerous red-zone targets.
Tate just needs the targets and playing time to be able to do so. With Green on a franchise tag and underperforming, Cincinnati really needs to start utilizing the 6-foot-5 receiving threat, Tate.