Tag: Tyler Boyd

The NFL’s top 11 slot receivers

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar continues our position lists with the NFL’s 11 best slot receivers.

In the 2021 season, per Sports Info Solutions, NFL teams targeted their slot receivers on 39.7% of all passing attempts (7,496 of 18,881). 43.1% of all  catches (5,481 of 12,731) came from the slot, as well as 35.6% of all receiving yards (49.737 of 139,619), 51.7% of all yards after the catch (35,567 of 68,802), 49.7% of all yards after contact (12,025 of 24,176), and 36% of all passing touchdowns (320 of 889).

The point? Slot receivers are more important than they’ve ever been before. As the NFL moves to more and more 3×1 formations, offenses don’t just rely on one slot receiver — there are now multiple slot weapons per team, serving different roles. Whether those slot targets are smaller receivers, bigger receivers, running backs, or tight ends, if you’re not attacking opposing defenses (which are trending far more to nickel and dime sets to counter all this), you’re not doing the most you can do as a play-designer.

If the first thing you thought after reading this was, “I bet the Seahawks don’t do enough to attack opposing defenses in the slot,” you would be correct. Seattle had the NFL’s fewest slot targets by far in the 2021 season, with 164. The Vikings, 49ers, Bills, and Saints rounded out the bottom five.

As for the top five, the Buccaneers ranked first in slot targets with 347, followed by the Chiefs, Raiders, Falcons, and Dolphins. As we’re about to discuss, the Dolphins appear to be in place to set an all-time record for slot targets heading into the 2022 season.

The top five receivers in slot targets last season were about as different as you could imagine. From top-tier receivers with both volume and production (Cooper Kupp), to high-volume receivers with limited production (Cole Beasley), to amazing tight ends (Mark Andrews) to uber-fast YAC monsters who create undefendable formations with their presence (Tyreek Hill) to underrated slot technicians (Tyler Boyd), there isn’t one type of slot weapon. It takes all kinds, in all kinds of offenses, to lay waste to coverage with slot concepts.

Here are Touchdown Wire’s 11 best slot receivers, regardless of position — and all our position lists, leading up to our list of the 101 best players in the NFL today.

The NFL’s top 13 safeties

The NFL’s top 12 slot defenders

The NFL’s top 12 outside cornerbacks

The NFL’s top 11 linebackers

The NFL’s top 11 edge defenders

The NFL’s top 12 interior defensive linemen

The NFL’s top 12 centers

The NFL’s top 11 offensive guards

The NFL’s top 11 offensive tackles

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions, Pro Football Focus, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).

Tyler Boyd ready to help Bengals ‘run them out the club’ in 2022

Fun quote from Bengals WR Tyler Boyd.

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If you think Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd isn’t chomping at the bit to get back into action and make a return trip to the Super Bowl, was it comfortable under that rock you were living in?

Speaking to reporters earlier this week, Boyd was asked about the potential of the Bengals offense and if there’s room to grow. Boyd emphatically said he believes this team can score more points per game than they have and will “run them out the club”. Watch and listen for yourself.

Fox 19’s Joe Danneman captured the funny exchange with the star slot receiver:

Some people might shy away from the added pressure and the added spotlight. Boyd? He’s ready to be the star of the show.

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Bengals WR Tyler Boyd assists kids fundraiser in South Allegheny

Tyler Boyd is making a big impact locally during the offseason.

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Since the Super Bowl, we’ve seen plenty about Cincinnati Bengals players training for the upcoming season and even Joe Burrow recruiting key free agents. 

What doesn’t typically make the rounds, though, is the impact the players have off in their communities during the offseason.

Take Tyler Boyd, for example. He recently went back to South Allegheny and assisted  The TONYSTRONG Foundation‘s inaugural event, posing for photos and helping with a basketball camp.

“It’s important to give back, always,” Boyd said, according to TRIBlive’s JoAnne Harrop. “I didn’t get to meet guys like me when I was their age. I want them to see that they can come from right here in the Mon Valley and be successful.”

The foundation’s goal is to cover sports clinics, teams and even physicals for kids in the local area before hopefully escalating to scholarships.

Boyd throwing an assist to a local effort like this is not just admirable, it’s giving back to a community in a way that could have a lasting impact for a very long time.

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Tyler Boyd says what everyone’s thinking about Super Bowl officiating

Spot on, right?

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd took it upon himself to say what any Super Bowl LVI onlooker was probably thinking about the officiating after Sunday’s game.

Simply put…let ’em play.

Officials opted not to call ticky-tack stuff for most of the eventual 23-20 Los Angeles Rams win. And then when Matthew Stafford and Co. got the ball back with a little more than six minutes left in the game and drove down into the redzone, flags suddenly littered the field.

On one notable play, Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson was hit with a penalty that gave the Rams a new set of downs.

After the game, Boyd hit on the big theme, as captured by The Athletic’s Jay Morrison:

Boyd, along with head coach Zac Taylor and others, weren’t pointing the finger directly at officials as the reason for the loss. But when the officiating calls nothing all game and then quite a bit with just minutes left, it’s worth pointing out and discussing.

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Tyler Boyd to bettor who laid $500 on his anytime TD prop: ‘You gonna win some money’

Boyd’s confident in his Super Bowl touchdown chances.

Tyler Boyd has been the forgotten member of the Cincinnati Bengals’ receiving corps. The two-time 1,000-yard wideout has seen his star dimmed by the presence of 2020 and 2021 draft picks Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, who’ve taken on WR1/2 duties alongside Joe Burrow. He currently has the 12th-best odds of any player at Super Bowl 56 to score an anytime touchdown at +275, according to Tipico.

It’s a bet Boyd thinks you should make. When one bettor told him he had $500 riding on six Boyd points in the big game, the veteran receiver had a simple — and positive — response.

“You gonna win some money then.”

Boyd only has 14 touchdowns over his last three seasons but caught a controversial 10-yard touchdown from Burrow back in the Wild Card round against the Raiders’ porous secondary. He’ll likely fly under the radar against the Los Angeles Rams’ swarming pass defense. If he can slip into the end zone, he’ll more than triple up the investment of the guy who called him out earlier in the week — and anyone else riding on a Tyler Boyd anytime touchdown.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

The 14 Secret Superstars of Super Bowl LVI

From Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd to David Long Jr. and Nick Scott, here are 14 underrated players who could make all the difference for the Bengals and Rams in Super Bowl LVI.

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Throughout Super Bowl history, winning teams have been buttressed just as much by unexpected players as they have been by established superstars. Who expected Malcolm Butler to pick off Russell Wilson’s skinny slant in Super Bowl XLIX, or Nick Foles to put up an MVP performance in Super Bowl LII, or for David Tyree to make that helmet catch in Super Bowl XLII, or for Rod Martin to pick off three passes in Super Bowl XV?

We can go all the way back to the first Super Bowl, when Packers receiver Max McGee blew up the Chiefs’ triple stack defense for seven receptions, 138 yards, and two touchdowns — most likely with very little sleep from certain extracurricular activities the night before.

So, when we get heavy into the 56th version of the NFL’s biggest game, here are 14 under-the-radar players who could have a similar transformative impact, and their potential ascents turning into rings for them, and all of their teammates and coaches.

Here are the Secret Superstars of Super Bowl LVI.

Bengals don’t expect Jalen Ramsey to shadow one WR and won’t be afraid to target him, either

The Bengals don’t expect Jalen Ramsey to shadow Ja’Marr Chase or any single receiver – and they won’t be afraid to target him, either

The Los Angeles Rams face a big test in Super Bowl LVI with the Cincinnati Bengals’ receiving corps, a talented group that’s headlined by Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. All three went over 800 yards, contributing in different ways to help Joe Burrow put together the terrific season he just had.

The Rams have the ultimate eraser on the other side in Jalen Ramsey, but he can’t cover all three of them. The Bengals know that, too.

Boyd spoke to the media this week and said the Bengals don’t expect Ramsey to shadow one specific receiver, understanding that he moves around the secondary. And even when he does match up with Chase, Burrow isn’t going to be afraid to target him.

“He has traveled with a guy,” Boyd said, via ProFootballTalk. “He has played both left and right corner. He even has clips of when he was in the slot. He’s a guy that can play it all but we’re not anticipating guys singling out other guys playing them one-on-one. We don’t care what’s going to happen, how you are going to play us. We’re going to continue to play our game. We’re not going to not throw [Chase] the ball because Ramsey is on him. However they decide to play, they’re going to have to match us.”

Much of this game will come down to the job that Darious Williams and David Long Jr. do at cornerback. Ramsey plays consistently well week in and week out, but it’s been an up-and-down season for Williams and Long.

Burrow might not be afraid to target Ramsey, but he’s not going to go after him regularly. It’s likely that most of his passes will go to players who aren’t covered by Ramsey, and that’s where the Rams need their role players to step up.

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Erroneous whistle on Bengals touchdown sparks controversy in NFL wild card game

The Bengals got a touchdown despite an early whistle, the Raiders fumed, and a playoff game may have shifted in the balance.

The NFL playoffs kicked off on Saturday afternoon with the Bengals and Raiders leading off the festivities. And so far, it really couldn’t be going any better for Cincy, a franchise notorious for postseason failure. A sterling first half—where the Bengals scored on each of their first four possessions—seemed as if they wanted to exorcise all the demons of Dalton, Palmer, and Esiason’s past.

And they appeared to have a little help from the referees, too.

With Cincy looking to pad a lead during a two-minute drill, Burrow rolled to his right and fired a dart to Tyler Boyd in the end zone. There was just one problem: An official on the sideline blew his whistle early because he thought Burrow stepped out of bounds before he threw the ball.

Oops.

Here’s another angle, in slo-mo glory (or agony, if you’re a Raiders fan).

While the replay shows that Burrow was clearly in-bounds, and thus the play (and touchdown) would count under normal circumstances, the rules are not as kind. And rules are rules.

As dug up by ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, the official NFL rulebook states that if a pass is in the air and a whistle happens to go off, the play should be blown dead, no questions asked. NBC’s Mike Tirico also confirmed on air that “by rule, they cannot have a touchdown on that play.”

Uh, that did not happen. While there may have been a second or third thought about the decision, the officiating crew gave the Bengals the touchdown anyway. A ruling that might prove to be pivotal in a neck-and-neck game.

With the touchdown, the Bengals’ spread moved to -16.5, and their moneyline jumped to -2500, at Tipico Sportsbook .

While there’s still a lot of ballgame to go, relevant bettors, and Raiders fans everywhere, have a bone to pick with the officials. Especially as the Over/Under 48.5 comes into play.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

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Raiders robbed by erroneous whistle on Joe Burrow’s TD pass to Tyler Boyd

More bad officiating in the 2021 NFL season? The line judge blew a bad whistle on a Joe Burrow TD pass that shouldn’t have counted against the Raiders.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was absolutely incendiary in the first half of his team’s wild-card playoff game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Burrow completed 12 of 18 passes for 146 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 128.5. Burrow’s most improbable throw, a 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Tyler Boyd with 1:51 left in the first half, both should and should not have counted.

That makes no sense until you consider that the deciding factor in that bit of nonsense has to do with the one bit of consistency we’ve seen the 2021 NFL season — terrible officiating.

Here’s the play. Burrow rolled to his right, and hit Boyd with an outstanding throw just before he went out of bounds.

Right after Burrow released the ball, it appears that line judge Mark Steinkerchner blows the whistle indicating that Burrow was out of bounds. And per league rules, nothing after that matters. You can see various Raiders defenders holding up in the end zone as a result. There’s no way to know if the result would have been different had Steinkerchner pocketed his whistle as he should have, but that’s what we’re left with.

(NFL Game Pass)

As former NFL official and NBC rules expert Terry McAulay said on the broadcast when NBC finally covered it on the Raiders’ subsequent drive, it was not a reviewable play, the ball was dead right when the whistle blew, the down should have been replayed, and there’s no way the touchdown should have counted. On the replay of the play, you can see Boger and Steinkerchner discussing the play before Boger signals touchdown.

Which is inexplicable. Per Rule 7, Section 2, Article (o) of the NFL Rulebook:

When an official sounds the whistle erroneously while the ball is still in play, the ball becomes dead immediately.

    1. If the ball is in player possession, the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play where it has been declared dead or to replay the down.
    2. If the ball is a loose ball resulting from a fumble, backward pass, or illegal forward pass, the team last in possession may elect to put the ball in play at the spot where possession was lost or to replay the down.
    3. If the ball is a loose ball resulting from a legal forward pass, a free kick, a fair-catch kick, or a scrimmage kick, the ball is returned to the previous spot, and the down is replayed.
    4. If there is a foul by either team during any of the above, and the team in possession at the time of the erroneous whistle elects not to replay the down, penalty enforcement is the same as for fouls during a run, forward pass, kick, fumble, and backward pass. If the team in possession elects to replay the down, all penalties will be disregarded, except for personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, which will be administered prior to the replaying of the down. If the down is replayed, the game clock will be reset to the time remaining when the snap occurred, and the clock will start on the snap.

It was a clear mistake by Steinkerchner, because the replay showed that Burrow was in bounds when he threw the ball. It was an amazing play, and it should have counted as it did, but because the whistle blew, it then should not have. Boger was right in a hypothetical sense to ignore the whistle and call the touchdown, but there’s no provision in the rule book for overturning an erroneous whistle.

The Bengals went into the tunnel leading 20-13.

Watch: Joe Burrow finds Tyler Boyd for must-see TD in playoff game vs. Raiders

One of the best TDs you’ll see in the playoffs this year.

The Cincinnati Bengals went up 20-6 over the Las Vegas Raiders in the second quarter of their wild-card playoff game on Saturday via a touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Tyler Boyd.

If only it were that simple.

On a third down, Burrow scrambled out of the pocket and appeared to be going out of bounds near the sideline before gunning a pass to the end zone for Boyd.

It was a wow-worthy play and Burrow’s second passing score of the game. Not only that, the Bengals were set to get the ball back after halftime.

Here’s a look at the play, which put Burrow at 146 yards and two scores:

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