When the Cincinnati Bengals signed Trent Taylor during OTAs, fans didn’t think much of it. After all, the 49ers parted ways with Taylor and this team is stacked at wide receiver, so why should Taylor receive much hype?
Well, after just a handful of practices, Taylor is showing what kind of impact he can make with the Bengals if they include him on the 53-man roster.
Per Stripe Hype’s Kyle Smith, Taylor was a showstopper over the weekend. He dove to make a beautiful one-handed catch during Friday’s practice and then upped the ante during Saturday’s practice, dazzling the fans at Paul Brown Stadium with another one-handed catch, this time in the end zone for a touchdown.
The two plucky WRs on the Bengals' roster, Trent Taylor and Trenton Irwin, with some nice catches today. Taylor did a great job waiting on a corner route from Burrow, who dropped it in well.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) July 31, 2021
Trent Taylor is the talk of Cincinnati Bengals training camp.
There’s always a player who shines bright in training camp and preseason and this year, at least so far, it’s Taylor. Most fans didn’t expect him to be anything more than a special teams contributor this season, which is probably still going to be where he contributes the most.
Now, however, with how well Taylor has been playing at receiver, he’s definitely making a strong statement when it comes to making the roster. He probably already had a good shot with his experience in the return game but this now puts him over the top, assuming he continues to impress this much through the rest of training camp.
Trent Taylor.
— Keith Jenkins (@MrKeithJenkins) July 31, 2021
Remember the name, Bengals fans.
When the season actually gets underway, Taylor probably won’t be making the same kind of flashes considering he’ll be competing for targets with Tyler Boyd, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. Not to mention, Joe Mixon, Drew Sample, and Auden Tate will be in the mix for targets as well.
It’s still very early in training camp but Taylor is doing what he needs to do in order to make the roster. He’s the standout receiver through camp so far, even more so than the big three of Boyd, Chase, and Higgins and no one predicted that’d be the case.
Trent Taylor has made a strong case to make the team after final roster cuts and has definitely climbed the most through the early stages of training camp. Will anything come of this down the road though? That remains to be seen.