Welcome to my new article series, which I have tabbed as the Next Man Up. In this series, I am going to break down a player that I believe will be the next man up for their respected NFL team. This could be due to a variety of issues (injuries, trades, free agency, etc), but whatever the reason, there is always someone waiting and ready to take over the open role. With that in mind, this takes me to the Cincinnati Bengals and their receiving core, specifically the slot position. Let’s take a look at why the Bengals slot receiver position is open, and why sixth-year receiver Trenton Irwin is the next man up.
The Opportunity
The past few seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals have been spoiled at the wide receiver position, with the likes of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd among others. What is considered a team strength has some kinks in the armor. There have been some issues that arose this off-season that the Bengals have to look at and prepare for. WR2 Tee Higgins requested a trade in early March, and the Bengals decided to let WR3/Slot Tyler Boyd (now in Tennessee) leave and enter free agency. So as you can see they have some decisions to make and re-strengthen that group.
The Bengals are really young and inexperienced when it comes to their backups. They didn’t bring in anyone through free agency, at least not yet and they only selected rookie Jermaine Burton in this year's draft class. There is still time for them to revisit free agency and see what players are available and who could make an impact on their roster. I expect the Bengals to look for a solid veteran and add to the team, but the best option to take over at the slot is already in-house, and that’s Trenton Irwin.
The Player
Irwin is entering his sixth season in the NFL and all with the Cincinnati Bengals. He started out as a special teams player but has worked his way into a backup role and a chance to now be a starter. Irwin has shown flashes that he is ready and capable of being the new slot receiver for Cincinnati. Over the last two seasons, Irwin has earned a larger role within the Bengals offense and has been productive. In that span, he has played in 25 games, with seven starts, while producing totals of 40 receptions on 55 targets, 72.7% catch rate, for 547 yards, for a 13.6 average yards per catch, and 27 1st downs. Not eye-popping numbers but for a WR4 in that offense it’s not bad at all.
Make no mistake, Irwin has some pretty high expectations to meet. Boyd ranks 4th in receptions (513), 7th in receiving yards (6000), and 11th in receiving TDs (31) in the Bengals storied franchise history. Although Irwin has a much smaller sample size than Boyd, he does possess some positive indicator numbers that lead me to believe that Irwin could be in line for the best season of his career. For one, he carries an average yards per catch number (13.6), which is almost a full two yards more than Boyd’s (11.7). Again small sample size but Irwin also has a touchdown per every 8.6 catches. I’m not comparing Irwin to Boyd, but just trying to show that Irwin is capable of filling this role.
Fantasy Outlook
For those of you who play fantasy football and even those of you who don’t, there is a lot of optimism for Irwin this season. Boyd proved that being a WR3 in this offense can be very productive. I see no reason that with the volume that Irwin is set to potentially get, he couldn’t produce a 50-rec/700-yd/6-TD type of season. There is production and value with Irwin and now is the time to get him added to your rosters. If you can carry Irwin as your WR4/WR5 then you’re going to be able to maximize his value and capitalize on his return.
All stats provided by Pro Football Reference
Thanks for reading my article. I am a member of the FSWA (Fantasy Sports Writers of America). Follow me on Twitter at @HollywoodTitan, on Facebook on my IDPNation page, on Reddit in the fantasy football IDP sub — I’m user KingTitan1 — and tune in each week and listen to IDP Nation and Devy IDP Grind, the podcasts that I co-host, on several different platforms. Feel free to email or DM me with any questions, as I’m always glad to help fellow IDPers. #IDPNation #IDP #IDPDevy
