4 significant questions for the Bengals wide receivers this season
- What will Boyd's role be?
- Is Higgins sticking around?
- What to expect from the rookies
- What about Irwin?
How much will Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas see the field?
As stated a couple of pages back, I believe these two were drafted to replace Tyler Boyd (and potentially Higgins but hopefully not), so I'm curious to see what the coaching staff will do with them throughout the regular season to see what they have in the two rookies out of Purdue and Princeton respectively.
Barring any injuries or trades, they won't be starting and most of their reps will come from special teams. However, that doesn't mean they won't see any offense snaps at all.
Using Trenton Irwin as an example again, after he showed some flashes in the month that Chase was recovering from a hip injury, he still saw a decent amount of looks as WR4 on the depth chart after Chase returned. This included a two-touchdown game in New England.
Could Jones and Iosivas get some opportunities too throughout the season? If there's an injury or the Bengals are blowing an opponent out, I'm sure they will, but will they also get put out there for certain plays and formations like Irwin was?
They can both be utilized even if they only get a small number of snaps, especially the former Tiger, who has been the more impressive of the two rookies through training camp and two preseason games, leading the team in receiving yards in both outings.
We'll just have to sit back and see whether or not the coaching staff looks to them and gives them some opportunities on offense, or if they'll stick with the guys like Irwin and Taylor, who've proven they can be reliable to come in for any of the big three.
Speaking of Irwin...