Sanzenbacher sets sights on slot

Injuries play a large role in earning regular season opportunities for players in football. The Packers won the Super Bowl with fifteen players on IR back in 2011. Lesser known players had to step up that year and fit into the winning ways of the team. The 2013 Bengals would prefer to keep everyone healthy heading into opening day of the football season in September, but the reality is they probably will be without at the very least third year receiver Andrew Hawkins for a number of weeks. Hawkins is a candidate to start the year on the IR-designated to return list, much like Kyle Cook last season when he was able to step into the rotation halfway through the year. The Bengals were certainly relying on Hawkins to progress from his fifty catch season in the slot last year. The explosive Hawkins is an electrifying route runner who relies on his speed to fool defenders, so the ankle injury he suffered will have to completely heal before he steps back on the field.

Into the fray steps Dane Sanzenbacher, one of the most celebrated wideouts in the Jim Tressel era at Ohio State. The 5'11 Sanzenbacher is just twenty-four years old and signed with the Bengals at the end of last season after he was cut by Chicago. He is the ideal slot receiver for a team that has thrived with Hawkins and Jordan Shipley in the recent past. Ryan Whalen will also get a shot to earn snaps with the three wideout first team sets, but Sanzenbacher has proven to be a savvy competitor with an attitude of always defying the odds.

Teams have always questioned Sanzenbacher's physical stature throughout his NFL career. Nobody can question Sanzenbacher's ability to make tight catches and his toughness to be able to stick to his routes. Those traits make up the undervalued duties of a slot man. Sanzenbacher survived final cuts in 2011 after signing with the Bears as an undrafted free agent, and went on to become a valuable weapon for Jay Cutler, playing in all sixteen games and catching twenty-seven balls for almost three hundred yards and three touchdowns. All that production came after a senior season at Ohio State in which Sanzenbacher has 948 yards, thirteen touchdowns, and 17.2 yards per catch. Sanzenbacher finished his Ohio State career eleventh in school history in terms of receiving behind the likes of Joey Galloway, Santonio Holmes, and 2013 Hall of Fame inductee Cris Carter.

Sanzenbacher has had a relatively quiet training camp, but since the Hawkins injury, reports have come from Bengals reporters that say Sanzenbacher has been beating coverages and consistently providing a stable weapon. Sanzenbacher apparently played well in the two practices against the Falcons. Andy Dalton doesn't need many big yardage plays from the slot receiver. AJ Green and Marvin Jones will be the primary deep threats and the receivers that have the ability to squeeze by potential tacklers. Green and Mohamed Sanu also will be rotated into the slot position along with tight end Tyler Eifert.

Sanzenbacher is looking at a two man battle for a roster spot with Ryan Whalen. Give Sanzenbacher the edge with his innate traits for the slot position. Whalen fits more on the outside where he has played in a few games with the Bengals. Green, Sanu, Brandon Tate, and Marvin Jones are locks to make the team with Hawkins on the shelf. Cobi Hamilton will most likely beat the final cuts with an intriguing potential to develop later in the year and into the future. Sanzenbacher and Whalen will separate themselves based on positive preseason snaps with both the first and second team units starting Thursday night in Atlanta. The Falcons have one of the most experienced teams in the NFC, so they will provide a test for the young receivers to try to excel with quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Josh Johnson in the West Coast Offense.

Rich Hidy
Cincy Sports Spot

Wide Receiver breakdown

The Bengals head into the 2013 season with a lot to prove at the wide receiver position. The Bengals wide receivers started 2012 with a strong showing, but dropped off towards the middle and latter part of the season due to inconsistency and injury. The wide receiver depth chart was filled with inexperience from top to bottom. AJ Green had the most catches on the roster last season based on his rookie year. Brandon Tate, Andrew Hawkins, and Armon Binns were the veterans of the group, but they had never started at the position. Binns ended up getting cut by the team after not being able to get open on a consistent basis. Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu were both talented rookies with illustrious college careers. The wide receivers were solid at times for the Bengals, but with all the turnover at the starting spots from Tate to Binns to Sanu to Jones, the group could never get into a rhythm with quarterback Andy Dalton. Here is what the position looks like in 2013:

AJ Green-Green is the quintessential franchise wide receiver. He is what every team strives to acquire through the draft. After becoming the fourth overall pick in 2011, Green has been electrifying and explosive with over 2,400 yards and eighteen touchdowns in his first two years as a pro. Green is still improving at the NFL level heading into his third season, and it wouldn't be a stretch to see him catch over 100 passes this year. Green is a deep threat and a solid player on the outside to run intermediate routes. Quite frankly, Green can do it all.

Mohamed Sanu-Sanu is one player that the Bengals have extremely high expectations for to excel in the West Coast system. Sanu caught four touchdowns in his three starts with the team, and looked like the most capable player to line up across AJ Green. Sanu can play in the slot and on the outside, and his 6'2, 210 pound frame is hard for defensive backs to take down. He has been taking a lot of snaps as the Bengals' second wide receiver during the offseason program, and could be a player to watch for a breakout season.

Andrew Hawkins-Hawkins was looking like a top target for Dalton during the first ten weeks of the year, but tailed off after defenses figured out how to somewhat neutralize the speedy slot man. Hawkins ended up with 533 yards and four touchdowns, and has the potential to become one of the best slot receivers in the game. He will line up at the slot during a majority of the passing downs this season.

Marvin Jones-Jones looked like a pretty average receiver during his small sample size last season, but the second season in an NFL player's career is for taking that next step. Jones made some nice catches at times, including a touchdown against Baltimore and over sixty receiving yards against the Steelers, but failed to show off his deep speed for a catch over twenty-five yards. Jones will certainly be a nice piece for depth this season, but to see him in the starting lineup would be a surprise.

Brandon Tate-I fully expect Tate to make the team because of his punt and kick returning abilities. Tate is good for a catch or two per game, but has never been the talent that the Patriots thought he would be catching the football when he was drafted out of North Carolina. Tate is the best return man the Bengals have other than a healthy Adam Jones.

Ryan Whalen and Dane Sanzenbacher-Whalen and Sanzenbacher are solid possession receivers who do everything the coaches ask of them, but the Bengals do have more talented receivers on the roster both on the outside and in the slot. Whalen has been the sixth receiver on the last couple of Bengals teams and has shown the versatility to make a roster. Sanzenbacher was one of the better slot receivers Ohio State has had, and had a nice rookie season with the Bears in 2011. He had twenty-seven catches for 276 yards and three touchdowns. It would be a shocker if one or both of Whalen and Sanzenbacher make the active roster.

Cobi Hamilton-Hamilton is at least as good a prospect that Marvin Jones was coming out of Cal last season. Hamilton showed the Bengals that he could be one of the top receivers in the SEC by earning the most receptions in Arkansas history. Hamilton will either start the season on the 53-man roster or the practice squad. For him to grab 20-30 receptions this year would not be a huge surprise.