Bengals privately met with Ole Miss WR Quincy Adeboyejo

There has been a surprising amount of talk about the Cincinnati Bengals drafting a wide receiver this year, considering this is a team appearing to only have one open spot at the bottom of the depth chart. But, that’s where young guys expected to go in the late rounds of the draft, or not even be drafted at all, come in. In this case, that player is Quincy Adeboyejo, a four-year wide receiver out of Ole Miss with whom the Bengals privately met with on Monday at Ole Miss’ Pro Day.

Adeboyejo first gained national attention as a top 50 high school recruit out of Cedar Hill High School in Cedar Hill, Texas. He quickly developed as a productive weapon at Ole Miss, providing a tall, fast option for quarterback Chad Kelly to throw to. He split time in a loaded Ole Miss wide receiver corps that also featured players like Laquon Treadwell, Cody Core, and Damore’ea Stringfellow at one time or another.

Still, Adeboyejo impressed with his incredible size-speed combination during his time at Ole Miss. He has always displayed an adept ability to toss defenders off his routes before relying on his tremendous speed to complete said route. Any team in the NFL who takes a chance on him will be looking forward to witnessing his absolute mastery of go-routes, especially early on when opposing defenses have yet to learn how to defend against him. One look at his highlight tape from college will tell you all you need to know about his long-term potential.

However, patience will be a virtue with Adeboyejo as teams look for that potential to be met. Although he is lauded for being incredibly intelligent both on- and off-the-field, his play strength could use a significant amount of improvement. He can easily shake defenders on his routes, but there is no guarantee he will actually complete the catch when the ball is thrown his way. Furthermore, he isn’t as physical of a player as you would like, especially for a team like the Bengals who play in a very physical AFC North division. He has experience in multiple roles and fits the prototype of a slot receiver, but he needs to develop that particular skill set before an NFL team can use him consistently.

The Bengals likely aren’t looking to invest much into Adeboyejo in the upcoming NFL Draft. They have two seventh round picks, so we might see him picked up at that point, if he is still available. But, the Bengals are very good at doing their homework in the draft. If he does not fall to them at a time they feel comfortable selecting or signing him, they won’t go out of their way to pick him up when there are so many other viable receivers expected to be drafted late or available in undrafted free agency.

That said, if the Bengals do select and/or sign Adeboyejo, they will be receiving an incredibly talented wide receiver. As raw as that talent may be, there is certainly no harm in investing as little as a seventh round pick or an undrafted free agent contract into his potential. In theory, he could fill the final spot in the Bengals’ mostly solid wide receiver corps. Not to mention, he and Core are already used to working together on the same roster, so he might feel right at home in Cincinnati.