There are plenty of big decisions that are going to have to be made in Cincinnati. The wide receiver room has the opportunity to stay the same for another year or end up incredibly different. Ja’Marr Chase will get his money, Tee Higgins will likely be tagged, but the third member of the trio has gone under the radar when it comes to re-signing conversations. The Cincinnati Bengals should bring back Tyler Boyd.

The Bengals Should Bring Back Tyler Boyd in 2024

Unquestioned Leader

Few players have embodied what it means to be a Cincinnati Bengal than Boyd over the last eight years. Boyd was drafted in the second round out of Pitt in the 2016 NFL Draft and hasn’t taken a single play off in all that time. He’s been a leader in the receiver room while playing with all-time Bengals greats like A.J. Green, Tee Higgins, and Ja’Marr Chase.

Boyd stuck with the Bengals despite some of the worst seasons since the beginning of the Marvin Lewis era. In the first three years he was in Cincinnati, the Bengals went 19-28-1 and were about as uninspiring as could be. However, the team knew his importance and locked him down to a four-year, $43M extension (ending this year). Zac Taylor came in that same year and made sure he had his star receiver opposite Green. Which, looking back, Green was on the decline due to missing the entire 2019 season. Without Boyd, 2019 would have been even worse than the 2-15 mark they limped to.

In that season, Boyd took a step forward as a leader. He is often quoted that he hates to lose, so he had to not only pick up his teammates as the Bengals lost week in and week out, but himself as well. Then, as the Bengals picked up a pair of young, dynamic, WR1-type players in Higgins and Chase, he was suddenly the grizzled veteran.

Despite drafting Charlie Jones as a presumed successor, keeping Boyd in the receiver room would pay dividends. Whether or not the 2024 Bengals includes Higgins, Boyd needs to be extended. If Higgins is gone? It would be even more important.

Sure-Handed

Much has been said about Boyd’s drops over the last two years. In 2023 (prior to Week 18), Boyd has dropped five passes. Last year, he dropped three. Since 2018, Boyd has a total of 20 drops. That seems like a lot but compare that to his 638 targets in that time. He has a drop rate of 3.1%. Even though 2023 has been tied for Boyd’s worst season in terms of drops in 2018, he’s nowhere close to the league leaders Puka Nacua (12), Tyreek Hill (11), or David Njoku (11).

The magnifying glass was tuned in on Boyd during Super Bowl LVI. On third-and-nine with 6:20 to go in the game, the Bengals owned a narrow 20-16 lead. Joe Burrow‘s pass was on the mark and hit Boyd in the hands but it fell incomplete. That was his first drop of the season.