FanPost

A look at the Bengals wide receiver group heading into 2015.




Assessing the Wide Receiver Group

As training camp gets ready to kickoff in less than two months I examine the wide receiver position group and who stays and who goes when the roster is trimmed to 53. Last year this group was hampered with injuries, which played a big role in Andy Dalton’s mediocre 2014 campaign.

Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green missed a portion or the entire duration of five games as he dealt with a toe injury that caused him to miss a stretch of games in October. This was followed by a shoulder injury that kept him from recording a catch in the victory over the Broncos, culminating with him missing the Wild Card game with a concussion sustained in the season finale at Pittsburgh.

After tallying 10 touchdowns in 2013 and being tabbed a breakout candidate for 2014 by numerous publications Marvin Jones’ season was lost due to an initial ankle injury followed by a break in the opposite foot while rehabbing. Reports from OTAs were Jones was back to where he left off 2013.

If there is one positive out of the 2014 injury riddled season for the Wide Receiver group it’s that Mohamed Sanu gained some valuable experience and enjoyed his best season to date. If Sanu is the third best option in this group then this is going to be one of the better units in the NFL if everybody can stay healthy.

Tyler Eifert missed the entire season sans one quarter as well but let’s just stick to the receivers today.

The Locks:

A.J. Green

Marvin Jones

Mohamed Sanu

Barring injury or any unforeseen drops in performance these three will be the three that are trotted out when Hue Jackson deploys three wide receiver sets. The big question is will Marvin Jones assume the role of number two receiver or did Sanu do enough last year to hold onto the job heading into the season? If Jones is healthy his speed and deep threat capabilities mesh better on the opposite side of Green than Sanu’s. Sanu will still play a big role though, as this allows him to revert back to the slot in three wide receiver sets, something he excelled at in 2013 before being lost for the season with a foot injury of his own.

The Competitors:

James Wright

Brandon Tate

Denarius Moore

Mario Alford

Cobi Hamilton

Jake Kumerow

Tevin Reese

The remaining 7 players are fighting for what are most likely 3 roster spots. Keep in mind this projection is early and any one of these guys could have a great training camp coupled with good performances in preseason games that could result in them gaining a roster spot. It’s important to note that when talking about these last few spots especially that special teams contributions will play a vital role in who is named to the 53 and who is out of a job. So who out of these seven will make an impression when training camp kicks off?

James Wright will look to pickup where he left off last season as a contributor on special teams who was just starting to come on at receiver before suffering a knee injury and missing the last four games of the season. Wright managed to play a huge part in the Bengals win at Tampa bay last season leading the team in receiving that game with 59 yards. That would be Wrights last game though as he suffered the ill timed knee injury (are you sensing a theme) and didn’t suit up again in 2014. Wright who’s special teams play and potential is what resulted in him being drafted by the Bengals after not recording a catch in his final year at LSU will look to build on a solid rookie year. I’m penciling him into the number four receiver slot.

Mario Alford checks in as our number 5 receiver. Alford will look to unseat the incumbent return man Brandon Tate who had some of his duties stripped and awarded to Adam Jones as last season progressed. Jones’ role on defense also played a part on if Tate was back to return punts. Many Bengal fans hope they’ve seen the last of Brandon Tate in stripes with the arrival of Alford and with plays like this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjUdqRlR4Xo) and this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nryPTuWBW0) in the return game who can blame them? Alford and his game breaking speed (clocked in as low as 4.27 unofficially in the 40 at his pro day) will provide much needed speed not only on special teams but also on offense where Alford will most likely get Hue Jackson’s creative juices flowing with ways to get the ball into the speedster’s hands.

The sixth and final spot is going to come down to a battle between Denarius Moore and Brandon Tate. Tate obviously has experience in the system and hasn’t been bad when given opportunities. It’s not like he’s been great though either. Moore is an interesting case as his first three years in Oakland resulted in him catching no less than five touchdowns and finishing with no less than 600 yards receiving. Last season though Moore managed a measly 12 catches and just over 100 yards receiving as he saw his playing time take a significant turn for the worst. Overall Moore is the more experienced and probably talented player at receiver and with the aforementioned Mario Alford bringing his own skills to the return game it looks like Tate could be out of a job. We give the edge to Moore not only for his production advantage over Tate but also because Moore played under Hue Jackson in Oakland and is somebody Jackson is quite fond of.

Projected Depth Chart:

WR 1 A.J. Green | James Wright

WR 2 Marvin Jones | Denarius Moore

Slot: Mohammed Sanu | Mario Alford

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan, which is as important as the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors.