Parsing through the Bengals’ depth at wide receiver

Projecting the Cincinnati Bengals’ depth chart, a few questions remain at the wide receiver position.

Behind Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas is out to prove that he can deliver a bounce back season and has also started playing special teams again, Mitchell Tinsley has had a quiet camp, Colbie Young needs to show that he can be consistent right away as a rookie, Dohnte Meyers keeps making plays to move his way up the depth chart and there’s a battle for the returner spot between Meyers, Charlie Jones and Ke’Shawn Williams.

Iosivas was the No. 3 wide receiver in the preseason opener, and he has gotten the most work in with the first-team offense all summer. He still looks like the favorite to be the Bengals’ No. 3 receiver this year.

“Last year was a tough year that didn’t live up to his expectations,” wide receivers coach Troy Walters said. “He understands that. He put the work in this offseason. He’s focused. I’m expecting him to have a great year.”

No matter what happens at the back of the receiver room, this is Chase and Higgins’ show. The No. 3 receiver has to be extremely versatile, make nuanced adjustments on the fly with a quick signal from the quarterback, make an impact as a run blocker and do a lot of dirty work to set up more open space for the Bengals’ two star receivers.

Iosivas knows that role very well, and his experience in the offense really works in his favor. He dropped too many passes last year, and he needs to get that out of his game for his role to grow further. But he’s better than a lot of No. 3 receivers around the league at winning one-on-one matchups, and he has a pretty good success rate on contested plays down the field.

“He’s extremely valuable,” Walters said. “It goes unnoticed. He can play all three positions. He’s physical in the run game. He can play special teams. He brings great energy every day. He’s coachable. He’s a tremendous piece of this offense.”

Tinsley was the Bengals’ No. 4 receiver throughout last season. He stepped into the starting lineup whenever one of the top-three starters were injured, and he spelled Chase and Higgins when they needed a breather. Outside of Chase, Higgins, Iosivas and Tinsley, no other receiver had a real role on last year’s team. No other receiver had more than one catch all year.

Tinsley showed what he can do on contested catch opportunities, and Joe Burrow trusts him down the field.

Last summer, Tinsley was the breakout player of camp with a slew of highlight plays and went from the bottom of the depth chart to the No. 4 receiver spot. This year, he hasn’t delivered big catches. Still, Tinsley got limited snaps in the preseason for a reason and the Bengals know what they have in him.

“He has been good,” Walters said. “He hasn’t made the splash plays he did last year. He’s consistent. He knows all the positions. You can move him around. He’ll do what you say. He’s a safety blanket for a coach. He’s going to get the job done. He hasn’t had the opportunity to make the splash plays that he made last year, but he’s doing a great job.”

Young is the wild card. The Bengals offense has more continuity than any unit in the league. It’s a full-speed train moving ahead at a very advanced level. Young has impressed with how he’s picking it up, but he’s still a rookie.

His strength is his ability to win on the outside on big plays down the field. The Bengals prefer to dial those up for Chase and Higgins. Young will keep working on the dirty work elements of the job, which will be important for him carving out a role. Also, he hasn’t played much special teams yet.

“He has been a sponge,” Walters said. “He wants to be great. Anything little or anything he does wrong, he wants to be coached and corrected. The first (preseason) game was ok. He made a couple of plays but had one drop. He understands it. He knows that he’ll improve from this game to the next game.”

Even if Young doesn’t have a big role in Week 1, he could become a valuable part of the plan if Chase or Higgins ever miss a game. That could create more opportunities for the Bengals to dial up a few more splash plays with him in mind. The Bengals expect Young to contribute this season. He’ll grow into his role.

“You find roles to put guys in position to be their best and help the team,” Walters said. “It’s a tough role. Look at Andrei last year. They may get one target in two games. That one target may be a crucial target. They’re expected to make that play.”

Behind the starting wide receivers, the pass catcher making the most plays in camp is Meyers. He’s steadily moving up the depth chart and making his case to be on the roster. The ball finds him, which shows the growing confidence that the backup quarterbacks have in him.

“His speed shows up,” Walters said. “He’s a playmaker. He has grown since he got here. He was probably on the bottom of the depth chart when he first got here. He’s rising to challenge for a roster spot. You can see his explosiveness and quickness with the ball in his hands.”

Meyers is competing for one of the final roster spots. It could help his case if he proves in the preseason that he can be a steady returner. He’s in that mix along with Charlie Jones and Ke’Shawn Williams. While Jones is a much more intriguing receiver than Williams, they’ve both had very quiet camps as pass catchers (until Saturday when Jones delivered his first splash play on a nice catch down the field). Williams looks like more of a return-only player. Jones offers more as a pass catcher, but he hasn’t shown that in games yet in his NFL career and he has to stay healthy.