I'm curious, with the drafting of John Ross, what happens with Boyd. I thought he was going to be groomed as the #2 but it looks like that will be Ross's designation. Will Boyd just be a situational receiver or does he still have a shot at being the second option.

(05-11-2017, 02:41 PM)Butchie Tiger Wrote: I'm curious, with the drafting of John Ross, what happens with Boyd. I thought he was going to be groomed as the #2 but it looks like that will be Ross's designation. Will Boyd just be a situational receiver or does he still have a shot at being the second option.

Ross will stay outside as a burner and AJ and Boyd will probably share reps in the slot and on the outside.

I'm curious about Boyd myself. I think Ross can play all WR spots, but see him in the slot as a rookie. I see him stealing more Boyd plays than LaFell plays.

Boyd can be Houshlike moving forward

I think Boyd will play a key part in the offense this year. He showed a lot of promise last year when given the chance to play.

I view Boyd in a Houshmandzadeh role in that he's a sure-handed, big slot target that also takes reps outside. Ross is the electricity that can also play inside and outside but with a different skill set. I see Boyd and Ross as 2A and 2B.

(05-11-2017, 02:41 PM)Butchie Tiger Wrote: I'm curious, with the drafting of John Ross, what happens with Boyd. I thought he was going to be groomed as the #2 but it looks like that will be Ross's designation. Will Boyd just be a situational receiver or does he still have a shot at being the second option.

He Will probly Rotate @ Slot

We are going to run a rotation. One thing we have heard for a couple years is all of our guys have to know each position because they line up everywhere. There will be plays he isn't on the field, some Ross isn't on the field and other Lafell isn'ton the field....AJ is always on the field.

(05-11-2017, 02:41 PM)Butchie Tiger Wrote: I'm curious, with the drafting of John Ross, what happens with Boyd. I thought he was going to be groomed as the #2 but it looks like that will be Ross's designation. Will Boyd just be a situational receiver or does he still have a shot at being the second option.

As others have said, Boyd is really made out to be more of a slot type role. Tyler isn't terribly fast, but he makes tough catches, can get open, and get some yac. That's all key for a slot guy. Not saying that he can't get down field sometimes, but that's not really his forte'. When Boyd was drafted they said he was a better fit for the slot receiver role and they've stuck with that.

Boyd is a solid player.

Ross and AJ Green can also play the slot so the Bengals are comfortable moving guys around.

At least this is one of our few good problems we have

In this era:

AJ Green will be our Chad Johnson
Tyler Boyd our TJ Houshmandzadeh
John Ross our Chris Henry

Boyd is a slot guy and we were basically forced into taking him last year because the other 5 guys we wanted were taken ahead of us. Boyd is a guy I wouldn't be surprised to see leave after year 4.

He's the new Sanu.

(05-11-2017, 04:02 PM)Bengal Dude Wrote: Boyd is a slot guy and we were basically forced into taking him last year because the other 5 guys we wanted were taken ahead of us. Boyd is a guy I wouldn't be surprised to see leave after year 4.

He's the new Sanu.

(05-11-2017, 04:02 PM)Bengal Dude Wrote: Boyd is a slot guy and we were basically forced into taking him last year because the other 5 guys we wanted were taken ahead of us. Boyd is a guy I wouldn't be surprised to see leave after year 4.

He's the new Sanu.

Boyd can easily be a high end #2 not sure why everyone pigeon holes him to slot. It is almost like unless your really tall or really fast on this forum your a slot WR.

(05-11-2017, 04:14 PM)Au165 Wrote: Boyd can easily be a high end #2 not sure why everyone pigeon holes him to slot. It is almost like unless your really tall or really fast on this forum your a slot WR.

He might get some outside work, but he gets pigeon holed into the slot because he wasn't used as a big downfield threat while at Pitt. We know how the team views AJ and we just drafted Ross to also contribute down the field. It seems like Boyd would be an inside threat along with Eifert.

(05-11-2017, 03:19 PM)Au165 Wrote: We are going to run a rotation. One thing we have heard for a couple years is all of our guys have to know each position because they line up everywhere. There will be plays he isn't on the field, some Ross isn't on the field and other Lafell isn'ton the field....AJ is always on the field.

This.

Boyd will still get his snaps. He is a great 3rd down option with his hands and crisp route running.

He just isn't a burner like Ross or Core, neither is Lafell, but both Boyd and Lafell run good routes.

We are stacked man.

Stop saying Boyd is slow:

"Boyd had a disappointing 4.58 time at the Combine in the 40-yard dash a few weeks ago. On Wednesday, he cut that time a little bit, running between a 4.47 and 4.52 for the scouts that were present. Sam Werner says that, unofficially, he had a 4.45."

Running that at ~6'2" 200lbs is pleeeeenty fast enough to be a starting WR in the NFL.

He still can have a huge year for us if he remains healthy. Wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with 100 catches this season.

(05-11-2017, 04:22 PM)Bengal Dude Wrote: He might get some outside work, but he gets pigeon holed into the slot because he wasn't used as a big downfield threat while at Pitt. We know how the team views AJ and we just drafted Ross to also contribute down the field. It seems like Boyd would be an inside threat along with Eifert.

You don't have to be a downfield threat to work the outside. Anquan Boldin was never a big downfield threat but was a very good #2 throughout his entire career. Normally teams use one guy on the outside that can stretch the defense and another who is more of a possession guy. In our case it just so happens we have a guy in AJ that can do both well, but that doesn't preclude Boyd from being very good outside. His route running and ability to catch the ball away from his body makes him a great possession receiver.

The other issue with the "down field" theory everyone around here has been going on and on about recently is the fact most teams outside of Arizona and Pittsburgh don't take massive amounts of shots downfield. Many teams including ours use a lot of west coast concepts which means it is about route combinations that open up run after the catch opportunities. I am convinced a lot of fans are going to be upset when we don't take 15 shots downfield every game based on how some of them view what outside WR's do.

(05-11-2017, 03:47 PM)TSwigZ Wrote: At least this is one of our few good problems we have

Yeah, it's nice to have "problems" like this.  Too bad we don't have a similar "problem" with the O-Line.

(05-11-2017, 03:13 PM)ochocincos Wrote: I view Boyd in a Houshmandzadeh role in that he's a sure-handed, big slot target that also takes reps outside. Ross is the electricity that can also play inside and outside but with a different skill set. I see Boyd and Ross as 2A and 2B.

or 1b. and 2. AJ can do it all, and he has decent enough speed that he CAN go deep. I think Ross can do it all, too, though he does it differently because of the fear that his extra gear can throw into the hearts of DBs. Because he can go deep so much faster than anyone else, they tend to play off of him, giving him a lot of shorter routes to exploit for easy yards. What AJ lacks in speed, he makes up for in size and range. He's got a gear higher than Boyd's, but Boyd matches AJ's hands and range. Each of these guys is pretty damn good. I hope all 3 can stay health, and I hope Josh Malone is more like Chris Henry than Jerome Simpson.