4 significant questions for the Bengals wide receivers this season

For the past two seasons, we've seen the Cincinnati Bengals' outstanding trio of receivers (Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd) leave defenses scrambling to try and figure out how to contain them.

Between Chase's speed, Higgins' jump ball ability, and Boyd's presence in the slot, it's not an easy group to stop, especially when you add Joe Burrow slinging the ball into near-impossible places into the equation.

However, with new faces in the locker room and contracts on the horizon, several questions need to be answered about this group, some pertaining to the 'big three' while others relate to those a little behind them in the depth chart. Some that the front offense will need to answer and others where that responsibility is on the coaches.

So, let's look at four significant questions for the Bengals' receiving room in the 2023 season.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.

What to do with Tyler Boyd?

The fact that some of the faces of the franchise, such as Burrow, Chase, and Higgins (who we will get to in a moment), all have extensions waiting for them has led myself and others to believe that this is almost definitely Boyd's last season in stripes. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to keep Boyd around for the rest of his career, but I simply do not see it happening for a couple factors.

For one, while Boyd plays an important role in the offense, he's a WR3 behind Chase and Higgins, when, in reality, he could be a good number two or even top option for other teams. And I'm sure these teams will be willing to pay the Pittsburgh product more than what Cincy's front office is willing to. And the second factor, which is that they selected not one but two receivers in this past draft, confirms this.

They did the same thing last off-season when they couldn't ink a long-term deal with Jessie Bates III. They drafted Dax Hill and gave him a season to sit back and learn behind the veteran, prepping him to fill that role. Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas were selected to replace the long-time Bengal receiver.

So, that leaves the question, what do you do with Boyd? This is the last season on his contract, do you let him play it out like with Bates? Or do you see what you can get with him in the trade market?

Trenton Irwin is still on the roster (who is someone else we will get to) and, while he's no Boyd, he's shown he could be a solid option when needed.

So will they trade Boyd? Or keep him on the roster for one more year as the Bengals look to get back to Super Bowl?