In all, the Bengals wheeled out seven plays with five receivers Sunday.

You know how many times they did this all last year? Zero.

You know how many times the rest of the league did this Sunday? One play by the Bills.

Related players: A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins, John Ross, Mike Thomas, Auden Tate, Alex Erickson, Joe Mixon, Joe Burrow

The concept became a staple of his record-breaking season at LSU as his new offensive coordinator Joe Brady shifted from traditional six- and seven-man protections to the five-man protections with everyone out in the route to spread the field. The story added the Bengals ran more plays in five receivers than every team except Pittsburgh has over the last two full seasons. The entire league only ran five wide receivers for 25 total plays last season. The Steelers (17) led the way, Jaguars (four) were next and no other team had more than one. HC Zac Taylor said he wants to get the above WRs on the field because he feels there is a lot of talent there. But it also means pulling guys like Joe Mixon off the field at the same time.

On Sunday, A.J. Green showed why the Bengals need him on the field and how instrumental he can be to rookie quarterback Joe Burrow's development. Green had five catches on nine targets for 51 yards in a 16-13 loss.

Those number led the team in all three of those receiving categories. It was his first game since Dec. 2 2018. Green also had an offensive pass interference that negated a TD catch he would have had to help lock up a Bengals victory.

Auden Tate started 10 games for Cincinnati last year and ranked second on the Bengals with 575 receiving yards. But in his first few practices with rookie quarterback Joe Burrow, Tate has looked ready for a bigger role at wide receiver.

In the Bengals first preseason scrimmage, Tate caught four of Burrow’s first six passes. On the last play of Burrow’s first drive, Tate used his wingspan to snag a touchdown reception. The story also pointed out that throughout training camp, Tate has been one of Burrow’s favorite receivers. While still at least behind Tyler Boyd and A.J. Green, and possibly John Ross, Tate is perhaps a guy to keep an eye for very late in drafts or once he hits the free agent wire.

Joe Burrow on Tyler Boyd: TB is going to have a big season. I have a great connection with him right now.

Boyd finished with 90-1,046-5 on 148 targets in 2019, resulting in a No. 23 finish. Andy Dalton only played 13 games, and in those games, Boyd played at a 96-1,086-5.0 pace, which represent solid WR2 numbers. In 2018, he finished with 76-1,028-7 on 108 targets finishing No. 17. A.J. Green is theoretically back this season and Boyd’s 2018 splits with Green (6.1-80-0.56 on 8.2 targets per game) are encouraging, though much has changed in Cincinnati since 2018. The Bengals have a new offense and a new quarterback. Boyd is going off the board as a midrange WR3 and that seems about right.

Bengals rookie QB Joe Burrow showed control of the Bengals offense during the team's first scrimmage, according to head coach Zac Taylor. "He did a nice job communicating and had some nice drives for us," Taylor said in a teleconference afterward. Taylor also added that Burrow's grasp of the offense was not anything new.

Zac Taylor appears to be Burrow's biggest fan. Taylor praised Burrow as he completed eight consecutive passes during a stretch of the scrimmage. Burrow did not have A.J. Green or John Ross to throw to, but still succeeded. Depth may be Burrow's biggest weapon this season as he grasps the pro game.

Rookies and veterans are working out together this week as the Cincinnati Bengals go through the acclimation period of training camp. The acclimation portion of camp features on-field walk-throughs, which means Joe Burrow is tossing his first passes to A.J. Green this week.

“He's one of the best receivers in the league. I couldn't be more excited to work with him,” Burrow said of Green.

The story said Green hasn’t entered a season with a rookie starting quarterback since he and Andy Dalton both started as first-year players in 2011. The wideout caught 65 footballs for 1,057 receiving yards and had seven touchdowns with Dalton throwing him the football in 2011. Factor in a new coach, too, and Green is going off the board in the sixth round which is the latest we've seen in years.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow has signed his rookie contract.

Burrow is officially official. He is the unquestioned starter in Cincy and has a group of offensive weapons that make him an intriguing QB2 in fantasy.

The Cincinnati Bengals have agreed to terms with Joe Burrow on his rookie contract, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.

Burrow’s slotted contract value is $36.1 million over four years, all fully guaranteed, with a $23.9 million signing bonus. Like all first-round picks, his deal has a fifth-year team option. He was taken first overall back in April.

Joe Burrow has already started to build a rapport with at least one Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver.

According to a source, Burrow and John Ross have trained together out in the west coast. Burrow worked out with Ross prior to the 2020 NFL Draft and those on-field workouts continued post-draft.

The story said establishing a connection with Burrow will have a major impact on Ross’ future with the franchise. Ross is on the final year of his rookie deal and the Bengals declined to pick up his fifth-year option this offseason. Injuries have hampered Ross throughout his Cincinnati career. He got off to a promising start in 2019, but his season was derailed due to a sternoclavicular injury in Week 4.