Wide receiver Tyler Boyd had 513 receptions for 6,000 yards and 31 touchdowns in eight seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. But the slot specialist joined the Tennessee Titans in free agency this offseason.
Did the Bengals draft Boyd’s replacement when they added Jermaine Burton from Alabama in the third round of the NFL Draft on April 26?
“Very talented,” Cincinnati offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher told the Bengals’ official website about Burton after the team’s offseason program. “Some of the surest hands, ball skills that I’ve seen. A young player who really attacks the football violently, but then plucks it softly, if that makes any sense. Excellent body control, change of direction. Like all rookies, I think he’s going through the process of figuring out what’s going to be required of him at this level, and then specifically within our offense to be a productive player. Very happy with his approach, his attitude.
“I see him putting the work in, and he’ll only get better at that the longer he’s around a great coach in Troy Walters and great players like Ja’Marr (Chase) and Tee (Higgins) and other veterans who have been in that room, Trenton Irwin — guys who know what it looks like. Happy with what we’ve seen from him this spring. I think he’s got a ton of growth ahead of him. But I think he’s approaching it in such a way that he’s going to get to where we need him to be. And how fast he gets there, a lot of that is going to be on him. But very encouraged.”
Burton averaged 20.5 yards and scored eight touchdowns on his 39 receptions for Alabama last season. He’s scheduled to report with the rest of Cincinnati’s rookies for his first NFL training camp on Saturday.
Burton got plenty of first-team work with the Bengals’ offense during the offseason program. Chase attended only the mandatory minicamp, and Higgins skipped all the workouts after getting franchise-tagged.
“I don’t care what round I could have been,” Burton told Cincinnati play-by-play announcer Dan Hoard. “If I would have known I was going to this team, I would’ve picked that from the jump.”
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The Bengals also will need to replace the production of running back Joe Mixon in 2024. After seven seasons that totaled 6,412 rushing yards, 2,139 receiving yards and 62 touchdowns for Cincinnati, Mixon joined the Houston Texans this offseason.
“How do those two voids get filled?” Pitcher said. “Who are the people that step into those voids? And, based on who those people are, we’re always going to tailor what we do to our people, so, yeah, some things will look a little bit different.
“A lot of the stuff will look exactly like it’s looked because it’s been good. We have a great quarterback. We still have two high-end No. 1 outside receivers. We’re going to be who we are, and then we’re going to make small adjustments here and there.”
Cincinnati’s veteran players are scheduled to report for training camp on Tuesday, and the Bengals will hold their first full-team practice on Wednesday.
Cincinnati will start its three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and kick off its regular-season slate on Sept. 8 against the New England Patriots.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
