The Cincinnati Bengals may have had a disappointing season in 2018 but they still had a couple of positives as well. One being the emergence of Tyler Boyd on the Bengals offense.
Just a few years ago, Cincinnati selected Boyd with the 55th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The Bengals drafted the Pittsburgh product in hopes he could be the sidekick to A.J. Green.
That plan was quickly looking foiled in Boyd's first two seasons in the NFL with the receiver catching just 76 receptions for 828 yards and three touchdowns. The Bengals decided to give Boyd one more chance in 2018 to prove to them that he could play a vital role in the offense.
Boyd didn't let the Bengals down as he had a career-year last season. The third-year wideout had 76 receptions, 1,028 yards, seven touchdowns in 2018. In comparison, the 76 receptions were as many as Boyd had in his first two seasons combined.
Boyd came into 2018 expecting to be Green's so-called “Robin” but ended up being his own version of Batman on the offense. This was due to Green suffering injuries that caused him to miss seven games in 2018.
So what should we expect from Boyd in his fourth season in the NFL?
Here are three numbers to target for Tyler Boyd in 2019.
3. 80 Receptions
To see an improvement in Boyd again in 2019, his stats need to improve slightly across the board. One category that should see an improvement this season is his receptions.
In his first two seasons combined, Boyd totaled just 76 receptions for the Bengals. Boyd was struggling to translate his game in the NFL and was unable to find a role on the team.
Last season, Boyd finally looked comfortable in Cincinnati's offense and carved himself a role in the passing attack. At 6-foot-2, Boyd quickly became one of Andy Dalton's favorite targets through the air.
With Boyd catching 76 passes last year, that raises the bar slightly for what he could do in 2019.
Therefore, it's reasonable to believe that the fourth-year wide receiver can haul in 80 receptions during the 2019 season.
2. 1,100 Receiving Yards
There are some higher expectations for Boyd coming into 2019. After all, the Bengals hired Zac Taylor—and offensive-minded coach—to take over for Marvin Lewis as head coach.
Taylor comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree and figures to instill some of the same concepts in the Bengals offense that the Los Angeles Rams use. If that's the case, Cincinnati is going to utilize Boyd even more in the offense.
The Bengals could decide to use Boyd and Green in different ways as the Rams do with their wide receivers. What does that mean exactly for Boyd? It means that Boyd will see more opportunities to make plays in different positions in 2019.
As a result, Boyd should be able to garner more yards through the air in the upcoming season.
Last season, the Bengals wide receiver had 1,028 yards but could possibly exceed 1,100 yards in 2019.
1. 8 Touchdowns
If the Bengals plan on using their receivers in a similar manner as the Rams, does that mean they could run the ball some? Likely not, but there's a possibility that Taylor pulls out all the stops in 2019 with the Bengals.
One of the few bright spots for Cincinnati in 2018 was their ability to score touchdowns when they got into the red zone. The team ranked third in the NFL in touchdown percentage in the red zone only behind the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers.
That numbers will likely remain around the same as it was last year with Taylor being handed the reins to the offense. With this in mind, Boyd should see more scoring opportunities than he has so far in his career.
The Bengals wideout had seven scores in 2018 but could see a slight improvement by catching eight of them in 2019.
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