Cincinnati Bengals: 3 Players to watch in Preseason Week 2 vs. Dallas

Here are a few Cincinnati Bengals players to watch in the team’s second preseason game of 2018 versus the Dallas Cowboys.

The NFL is back in action! The regular season isn’t quite here, but every team has played at least one preseason contest now and, while these preseason games don’t matter for the standings, there is still plenty to learn in the coming weeks. Above all, we get to learn about the many players fighting for one of the coveted regular season roster spots available with each franchise. That means that once we finish these preseason games, rosters such as the Cincinnati Bengals’ will have to cut about three-dozen individuals.

Prior to every preseason matchup, we’ll take a look at some of these players who will be fighting for those coveted roster spots. These players may be ones who could be on the roster bubble, trying to return from an damaging injury, or who may be attempting to take on a larger role from what we saw from them previously.

This week, we have Cincinnati playing against the Dallas Cowboys. Let’s see who you should keep an eye on in this matchup.

* = On The Bubble; ** = Returning From Injury; *** = Bigger Role

*Alex Erickson

Things are much different for the wideouts this time around. Last year, Cincinnati kept on an astounding seven receivers on the initial 53 man roster. That backfired spectacularly, as their offense eventually amassed the lowest yardage of any team due to terrible blocking up front and an injury-destroyed defense couldn’t keep up with the bodies falling away.

This year, the approach will be different. One of the veteran names who held a spot last year (Brandon LaFell) is gone. Now, only A.J. Green has more than three seasons of experience among the group. There’s plenty of young, exciting talent to pick from, but there’s no way the team is going to keep seven of them again. Taking into account the needs elsewhere on the roster, six — or even five — could become the number Cincinnati enters the regular season with.

Erickson may be one of the players most likely to lose out because of all these circumstances. Green and John Ross are locks, Tyler Boyd should essentially be one, and 2017 mid-round pick Josh Malone is probably a good bet to join them. With that, only maybe two spots remain, and other receivers have plenty to offer — possibly enough to beat out Erickson in this competition.

Auden Tate just won a preseason game with his clutch catch in close quarters against Chicago. Cody Core has more enticing physical tools and could be a more impactful receiving option. Kermit Whitfield is tiny (5-8), but he made some exciting plays in camp and could be a possible option as a returner too.

Erickson shouldn’t be counted out yet, of course. He was fifth in receiving snaps for the team last year, but performed well when on the field. He had the fifth-most kick return yardage and ninth-most punt return yardage among all players last season as well. While not necessarily dynamic, he’s reliable enough both as a pass catcher and returner that the team could easily feel comfortable with him holding those roles again.

The receiver competition is strong enough to put his roster spot in jeopardy though. If the team feels much stronger about the other options at the position, they could always decide to leave the return duties to another receiver (Ross maybe? Or Whitefield if he makes it) or allow one of their young corner prospects to take on those duties (Darrius Phillips took some returns during the game against Chicago). A strong performance — in both aspects, if possible — against Dallas would be a great way to solidify a continued future with the franchise for Erickson.