The Cincinnati Bengals have plenty of tough decisions to make in the next couple of days.
The final cutdown day is right around the corner as they must trim the roster down to 53 players by Tuesday’s end of the day.
One of the positions Bengals fans will keep a very close eye on will be the wide receiver room.
Despite the starting three getting national attention as one of the best groups in the league, the depth of the room is also remarkable.
After strong preseason from the rookies, it’s clear that there will inevitably be tough cuts.
Here’s a reasonable breakdown of the situation at WR plus a prediction as to how the room will look like next Tuesday.
Bengals’ “Big 3”
Ja’Marr Chase
Tee Higgins
Tyler Boyd
Duh. I don’t know if there’s any additional insight we can dive into here. Simply put, it’s one of the best units in the entire NFL.
Candidates for the next 3… or 4?
Mike Thomas
Stanley Morgan Jr.
Trent Taylor
Kendric Pryor
Kwamie Lassiter Jr.
Trent Irwin
Oh, man. How we wish carrying nine wide receivers was feasible in the NFL. But hey, that’s life.
Most rosters in the NFL feature six wide receivers, but the Bengals have been an exception to that rule.
For each of the last five years, Cincinnati has opened the season with seven wideouts on the team.
Zac Taylor’s team played the second-most snaps in 11 personnel, per Sports Info Solutions. Having a deep group of WRs is a must for this offense.
And yet last year – outside of the starting trio – no Bengals wide receiver played in over 13% of the snaps.
I do wonder if the team will look toward having a player they trust more on offense that allows them to have more rotation at the position.
Stanley Morgan Jr. is a virtual lock after leading the team in special teams snaps last season.
Trent Taylor appears to be the starting punt returner on the team as well. The team clearly likes Mike Thomas and is highly unlikely to be cut.
Although many would be surprised at his 25% snap count on special teams in 2021.
That leaves Pryor and Lassiter Jr. on the outside looking in.
Pryor seems to have the leg-up on Lassiter just based on his offensive skills.
The UDFA has shown very good route running and hand skills that are likely to translate to Sundays.
On a team where most of the depth at WR is based on special teams value, a legit weapon like Pryor justifies a place with the team.
Kendric Pryor needs to make this team pic.twitter.com/T3SmmnMIYk
— Matt Minich (@CoachMinich) August 28, 2022
His preseason earned him a spot on the team and I have a very hard time imagining him not making it into the 53-man roster.
Not to mention, he showed he can carve out a role on special teams as well.
Although it would be atypical for the Bengals to keep a UDFA and give him a significant role on offense, Pryor is worth the exception.
Trenton Irwin is very much in this discussion as well.
Especially after a great performance last Saturday when he racked up 9 catches for 93 yards.
Prediction
One thing is for sure. However this position group looks like on Week 1, we’ll likely complain about at least one cut.
But here’s my shot in the dark as to the Bengals’ WR room. I have them keeping seven wideouts yet again:
Ja’Marr Chase
Tee Higgins
Tyler Boyd
Stanley Morgan Jr.
Trent Taylor
Mike Thomas
Kendric Pryor
