Finally, we have a Bengals practice to talk about.
The first day of training camp truly marks the beginning of a new season. Teams begin their five-month marathon of a 16-game regular season. The Bengals obviously hope that extends another month and two to four more games in the playoffs as they make a run at the Super Bowl.
Wherever their ultimate destination lies, training camp plays a major part in getting there. Here's a look at our biggest takeaways from Day 1 of Bengals training camp 2016.
1) Jake Kumerow Keeps Shining
No player on the Bengals' roster may have been a bigger winner as a result of this offseason than Jake Kumerow. With Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones both departing in free agency, Kumerow took a big step toward going from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, and possibly even a role in the offense.
Kumerow has taken that opportunity and run with it, while making a good impression on the team in OTAs. He kept up his impressive offseason with a great first day of camp. He beat both Dre Kirkpatrick and William Jackson III for big plays.
While the 6'5", 206-pound receiver out of Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater may be a little big for a receiver, he does a good job of using his size to shield off smaller corners and secure the catch.
Second of back to back completions to Kumerow #Bengals pic.twitter.com/YX4T8NuzPW
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonCMG) July 29, 2016
Making those tough, contested catches was something we saw Marvin Jones do a lot of for this offense over the last four years, but it looks like Kumerow is also capable of making that same kind of play. It's not crazy to think Kumerow becomes one of the top three or four receivers in this offense entering Year 2.
2) C.J. Uzomah Emerging?
After spending most of his rookie year on the bench, second-year tight end C.J. Uzomah is in prime position to take on a bigger role in 2016. Between the lack of depth at receiver and with tight end Tyler Eifert sidelined, Uzomah could be someone who plays a little of both spots, as he moves his 6'6, 271-pound body around like a receiver, but has the power to be an NFL tight end.
On Day 1 of camp, Uzomah lined up at both tight end and receiver while making some nice plays.
Another good play by Uzomah. #Bengals pic.twitter.com/XsyrcEzHcF
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonCMG) July 29, 2016
As we've seen with Eifert, Uzomah could be someone who lines up at tight end and receiver to utilize his pass-catching abilities more, not to mention give this offense another big red-zone target. Uzomah didn't show much in training camp or the preseason last year, so seeing him already making noise is a great sight.
3) Tyler 'Sanu' Boyd?
There probably won't be a Bengals rookie seeing the field more than Tyler Boyd in 2016. The second-round pick is already in line to be the team's starting slot receiver with A.J. Green and Brandon LaFell on the boundary. Those two should push defenses back enough that Boyd is free to do a lot of damage in the short-to-intermediate passing game, and we saw some of that on Day 1 of camp.
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However, we also saw Boyd catch a reverse pitch from Andy Dalton and then fire a bomb to Brandon Tate down the field, which he dropped in perfectly for a would-be touchdown. Boyd was used as a Wildcat QB like Sanu was in college and at brief points during his NFL career, and it looks like the new receiver has what it takes to make that play in the NFL if Ken Zampese ever calls it.
While Boyd did well at times of his first practice, he struggled getting separation on deeper routes, particularly against Dre Kirkpatrick. That's not a surprise though, as Boyd is going to make a living in this league doing damage closer to the line of scrimmage. Still, it was a good day for the rookie.
4) Dre Kirkpatrick Starting Slow
While Dre had his moments, his first camp session had some poor moments, too. He was beaten far more often than a starting NFL corner should be, not to mention it wasn't against a murderer's row of receivers either.
Brandon Tate, Jake Kumerow and even C.J. Uzomah were beating Kirkpatrick in coverage. This shouldn't be much of a surprise, however, when you remember Kirkpatrick is coming off offseason shoulder surgery that cost him some of the offseason.
It's ok that he looked a little rusty on the first day of camp, but he needs to clean that up as the summer progresses.