Bengals hosted an ideal Tyler Boyd replacement to round out NFL Draft top 30 visits

McMillan isn't going to be a first round pick next week, and he may not even be one of the first two receivers from his own school off the board, but he does have the profile of what the Bengals need at the position. 

Jalen McMillan can be the Bengals' new Tyler Boyd

Cincinnati had Tyler Boyd on its roster for eight years, most of them with him as the starting slot receiver. He was a crucial part of multiple starting trios with two different quarterbacks and head coaches running the show. All of that ended last month when the Bengals let Boyd's contract expire. He remains a free agent able to sign anywhere.

It's not likely that the Bengals retain Boyd, but they could still use a receiving weapon with experience playing out of the slot. McMillan fits the bill and then some.

Of the receivers projected to go off the board in the first three rounds, McMillan is one of four that took at least 50% of his snaps in the slot. Just under 70% of his playing time in his three years of starting was as a slot receiver, and he averaged 2.08 yards per route run during that those years while playing alongside Rome Odunze and Ja'Lynn Polk, both of whom are set to be drafted prior to him.

With his experience comes an ability to run a execute a proper route tree from the slot. That's a trait currently missing from the Bengals' receiving corps. 

Tight end Mike Gesicki and receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Charlie Jones are expected to take snaps in the slot to compensate for Boyd's departure, but McMillan projects as a more natural option there compared to the latter two. Gesicki at least as experience as he's been a big slot option for the majority of his NFL career.

The reason Cincinnati moved on from Boyd, however, is because they want more out of his position. A slot receiver who can also stretch the field vertically and play on the boundary is ideal for how the Bengals' offense wants to progress.

McMillan is a better athlete than Boyd ever was, and he's been able to win on the outside before. He was primarily an outside receiver for Washington in 2021 during his first year starting, but shoddy quarterback play limited his production. That all changed when Michael Penix Jr. entered the picture in 2022.

When should the Bengals draft Jalen McMillan?

The Bengals have three picks between the second and third round of the draft. The 49th pick might be too early for McMillan in such a deep receivers class (19 receivers have third round grades or better per The Athletic's Dane Brugler). The Bengals have the 80th or 97th picks in the third round, and that fits where McMillan is projected to hear his name called.

Taking a receiver on Day 2 of the draft is normal practice for Cincinnati when the need is there. McMillan checks a lot of boxes to become Boyd's true replacement in the Queen City.