Stop 7: Bengals training camp in downtown Cincinnati …
1) The Bengals receivers are aliens. Ja’Marr Chase had a catch down the sideline with two guys on him on Monday, where he shielded a defender with his body and caught the ball seemingly off his left hip with one hand, that I don’t think five guys on the planet would’ve made. Tee Higgins had a stream of catches where his body was moving one way across the middle, and his hands would dart back the other way to snatch the ball. And those two, and the way they push each other, came up a bunch with guys I talked to here. What may be more interesting is the depth the Bengals are building into the room. Tyler Boyd is back as the steady vet, and after that (and holdovers Trenton Irwin and Trent Taylor), rookies Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas have flashed. Jones is a versatile slot type who can fly, and Iosivas is a big-bodied, strong athlete who’s got better hands than the team expected. Both should make the preseason pretty interesting, and become nice insurance policies for the stars.
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2) Another rookie whose name came up a lot was second-round corner DJ Turner II. The Michigan product is a little small, but he’s fast and feisty and a very natural cover guy. His development’s been accelerated by the absence of Chidobe Awuzie, who’s working back from a torn ACL. I’d expect him to be in the mix right away with Awuzie and Cam Taylor-Britt at the position. The bigger questions in the secondary will come at safety. Veteran acquisition Nick Scott should be a nice, steady presence to calm things amid the losses of Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell, but who’ll start next to him is a question, with Dax Hill and Jordan Battle vying for that spot.
3) Two more position battles to pay attention to—right tackle and backup tailback. Jonah Williams has flipped over there with the acquisition of Orlando Brown Jr., and is trying to hold off former second-round pick Jackson Carman for the spot. Carman, who got beat out by Cordell Volson (who’s had a great offseason, by the way) at guard last year, looks much more natural playing at tackle than he did inside. And who’ll be next after Joe Mixon in the backfield remains an open question, with Trayveon Williams, Chris Evans and rookie Chase Brown (who’s got some Austin Ekeler to his game) in that mix. All those guys have ability, but the player who proves himself as a pass blocker will significantly factor into who gets the call in replacing Samaje Perine.
4) The depth in the front seven is showing itself, too. Joseph Ossai looks healthy, Cam Sample’s been strong, and rookie Myles Murphy has flashed up front, and Akeem Davis-Gaither looks capable of being a starting linebacker. All those guys are representative of a new necessity for the Bengals, with their team about to get more expensive to keep together—they’re all young vets developing into key players on rookie deals.
5) No one here knows quite how long Joe Burrow’s going to be out, but I didn’t sense a ton of concern that Week 1 would be in jeopardy. He’s been a fast healer, and this is the sort of injury that, on paper, usually takes four to six weeks to heal (that’s in other cases, not specific to Burrow’s prognosis). In the meantime, the Bengals are getting a long look at backups Trevor Siemian and Jake Browning. And the benefit to having those two is that both operate at a high level mentally, which allows for the coaches to run their offense as close to normal as could be expected in practice—and not hold the other 11 guys in the huddle back because the quarterback doesn’t get it.
