The Cincinnati Bengals have a quiet need at wide receiver that has nothing to do with the Tee Higgins situation.
Those Bengals, after all, franchise tagged Higgins and could do so again in a year’s time if the standoff continues.
Where the Bengals have more of a concern at this point is in the third wideout slot previously occupied by Tyler Boyd. That’s something Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton proposes the Bengals address by trading for Seattle Seahawks wideout Tyler Lockett:
The Seattle Seahawks’ new regime may view Tyler Lockett as an expendable asset with 2023 first-rounder Jaxon Smith-Njigba behind him on the depth chart…
…At 31 years old, the three-time All-Pro could be highly productive as the primary slot wideout. He’s racked up at least 894 receiving yards in six consecutive terms.
The Bengals are usually a little shy about going after veterans who are 30-plus years old and Lockett would be especially surprising given his $18.5 million cap hit in 2024.
That said, Lockett is quite fitting in terms of what the Bengals want from the slot. New tight end Mike Gesicki fills some of that desire to run more under-center looks with Joe Burrow, but the team also wants to get quicker there than they were with Tyler Boyd — and sophomores Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas don’t necessarily fulfill that.
In short, the Bengals seem likely to draft a speedy wideout to fill that slot role in certain packages, though it will be interesting to see if they do consider something like moving a fifth-round pick for a veteran around the draft, too.
