With Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins listed as doubtful with a quad issue for Sunday’s game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Fox 19) against the Raiders at Paycor Stadium, the estimable skills of wide receivers coach Troy Walters look like they'll be on display again.
Higgins is flirting with missing his fourth game of the season, yet three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase continues to lead the NFL in receiving yards with 647. Second-year wide receiver Andrei Iosivas has contributed three touchdowns, and rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton’s pair of catches are among the biggest plays of the year for 47 and 41 yards.
"Troy's the best," said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor after Friday's practice of his old Texas A&M office buddy when they broke into coaching 15 years ago. "I would follow him to the end of the earth. He'd be a great head coach. That's the effect he has not only on the receivers, but coaches and players elsewhere.
"I'll put him up against anybody in this league. Who he is as a technician and being a former player. To me, the man that Troy is is what I appreciate the most."
With Higgins probably down and Charlie Jones (groin) questionable Sunday, all eyes are on Walters’ work with the third-round pick Burton. Burton is coming off a career-high 24 snaps and is probably looking at more than that despite playing only 25 all year before he snagged a 41-yarder last Sunday on one of his patented go balls down the sideline.
"One thing he does is stay on me every day," Burton said of Walters after Thursday's practice. "Every day he lets me know what the real standard is of playing receiver here. Even when I do something good, he doesn't praise me. He says, do it again. He's done a great job with that."
Walters has gotten plenty out of rookie receivers here. As the Bengals assistant wide receivers coach in 2020, Walters helped Higgins grab 908 yards, the 12th most by a rookie receiver in the 2020s. The next year Chase went for a Bengals' record 1,455, for the second most by an NFL rookie in the decade.
"Jermaine and I talk about how Troy coaches us and being challenged," Chase said. "I think Troy does a good job of staying on us about the small details."
Chase's rookie year of 2021 was Walters' first year as the receivers coach, when he introduced post-practice Kahoot quizzes after Wednesday and Thursday.
"Do it for base downs, third downs, and red zone," Chase said. "All knowing what every receiver is doing. He keeps us mentally engaged."
Chase knows how tough a rookie year can be even though he made it look easy.
"I was not fluid. I didn't look like I knew what I was doing 100% of the time. That's your rookie year in this game. It happens."
He knows he had an edge over Burton.
"I had the same quarterback. I had the same offense, except for the words. Everything else felt pretty natural when I came in. Just being myself when I got here," Chase said. "When he knows what he's doing with 100% confidence, knows all the positions, I think he'll be more of a game changer."
Burton got the same be-yourself-advice from none other than Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, one of his passers in pre- and post-draft workouts on the West Coast.
"Because so many guys have been around this league so long. Eight, nine, ten years … even four, five, six … They've seen it all," Burton said. "Anybody that comes in acting something different, they can smell that out. It's not authentic. Not a good way to come off to guys you look up to."
Former Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who coached Burton in those workouts, knows he caught only 21 balls in his first season.
"For Jermaine, it's a maturity thing," Houshmandzadeh said. "It takes time to get to where you want to go. If the team wants you out there, they'll force feed you the ball, like the Giants with Malik Nabers. If they don't, they make you earn it and that's what they're doing. The thing about Jermaine, he wants it. He wants to do well. He just has to figure out how to get there."
It sounds like Burton is on his way when he's talking about the adjustment from college to the pros.
"The adjustment is there are a lot of good players in this league. Everybody is good," Burton said. "So it's about what you do on your off time. How you pay attention to details. It comes more into play, and how you take care of your body."
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (Knee, leg) didn't practice all week like Higgins and is also doubtful …
That was expected, but running back Zack Moss (neck) being listed as doubtful with a neck issue that suddenly popped up on the injury report after he practiced full Wednesday and Thursday was not.
That leaves Chase Brown and Trayveon Williams as potentially the only backs available Sunday. Brown (78 carries) and Moss (74) have been co-chairs. In the last two games Brown has 27 carries and Moss only has 11, but in those games Moss has been big in the check-down game with seven catches.
It's unclear if the Bengals just go with Brown and Williams if Moss can't. Or they could call up rookie running back Kendall Milton from the practice squad for his NFL debut …
Safety Geno Stone (shin) didn't go Friday after he went limited Thursday and is listed as questionable, so there's hope he'll go.
Left end Sam Hubbard (hamstring) went full Friday after being limited Thursday and, Taylor said, is good to go ….
