How will Tyler Eifert’s injury impact the Bengals?
Tyler Eifert is out 4-to-6 weeks, and he is targeting a Week 4 return to the Bengals and for fantasy owners. His backup, Tyler Kroft, could be a short-term streaming option, except he’s also injured and unlikely to play Week 1.Third-stringerr C.J. Uzomah simply isn’t a viable fantasy option.
So, where will Eifert’s 52 catches, 615 yards and whopping 13 touchdowns from last year go early on in the season? While that touchdown number is unlikely to repeat, there is still a major void in the Bengals’ passing game with their biggest red zone threat gone for a month. In addition, Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones have left for Atlanta and Detroit, respectively, leaving Cincinnati very thin at receiver.
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I do like A.J. Green to get a few more targets and red zone looks, but Andy Dalton can’t throw to Green EVERY time. However, I do like Green to be a top five wide receiver this year, simply because he’s a top 10 receiver likely to see an increase in targets. Two other beneficiaries will be Giovani Bernard and the rookie out of Pittsburgh, Tyler Boyd. Bernard had 49 catches for 472 yards last year, and that was with a full complement of Bengals’ receivers on the field. I see Dalton looking to his safety valve more often early this year, and the Bengals are being more creative with Bernard this year. I don’t put a lot of stock in preseason games, but Bernard did score a touchdown on a wide receiver screen against the Jaguars on Sunday. I think the team will move Bernard around more and Dalton will continue to look his way.
Boyd is a little more of a wild card, but given his price and ADP of 189, he’s well worth the gamble. He grabbed 254 balls for 3,361 yards in three years at Pittsburgh, and he is likely to start opposite Green at wide receiver. With Eifert out, and Sanu and Jones gone, Boyd will be the second wide receiver option almost by default. If he can develop an early rapport with Dalton, Boyd has a chance to be a sneaky WR3/flex option in 2016.
Matt Wineberg is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Matt, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @TheFantasyTool.
