The Bengals found their franchise quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft, selecting LSU QB and Heisman Trophy winner, Joe Burrow. Burrow will be looked upon to lead this offense and, ultimately, turn the franchise around. The surrounding talent is there for Burrow and the Bengals’ offense to take a gigantic step forward, and it looks like the rookie has found his target-hog in Tyler Boyd. With AJ Green hobbled once again, Boyd and Burrow have developed immediate chemistry. Thus, it looks like Tyler Boyd’s 2020 fantasy football outlook is on the rise with Burrow under center.
Paul Dehner of The Athletic first noted the connection:
“He showed a nice connection with Tyler Boyd working the flats and quick shots out of the slot. Might as well get this one out of the way early, but Boyd looked like the team leader and slot star he has been the last few years. His smooth route running and quick connection with Burrow were notable.”
In an early press conference, Burrow confirmed his rapport with Boyd.
“He [Boyd] has great body language in his routes,” Burrow said. “I understand when he’s gonna break and he knows where I expect to put the ball and I know where he wants the ball put on every route to every coverage. Things are going really well so far. We’re gonna continue to build that relationship, along with the other guys.”
In 2019, Boyd flourished with AJ Green sidelined for the entire season. The wideout amassed 90 receptions, 1,046 yards, and five touchdowns on 148 targets from Andy Dalton and Ryan Finley. In 2018, he led the team in all receiving categories, but once again, it was with Green missing a handful of games.
It’s worth noting because, you know, Green is the definition of injury-prone. To make matters worse, Green injured his hamstring during the first day of training camp that was open to the media. Although the oft-injured wideout returned to camp this week, soft tissue injuries can always flare up, and he’s ultimately hard to trust on a weekly basis.
While Boyd has balled out when given a chance, the offense should also take a noticeable step forward with Burrow in Zach Taylor’s system. Although the Bengals are still projected to have one of the lower win totals in the league this year, it works out well from a fantasy perspective if the team is playing from behind throughout the season.
The only real cause for concern could be the number of weapons that the team has put around Burrow. Obviously Green will be there when he’s healthy, but Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard will get a handful of targets, along with Auden Tate, John Ross, Alex Erickson, and second-rounder Tee Higgins. While there are a number of notches on Burrow’s target totem pole, Boyd should cement himself at the top.
Currently, The Wolf has Boyd ranked as his WR28 (+4 vs the ECR) on his 2020 Fantasy Football Big Board.
