Cincinnati Bengals wideout John Ross is entering the most critical year of his career.
Ross scored seven times a year ago, yet his campaign is mostly remembered for dropped passes and miscommunications with quarterbacks. His play has improved, but not to a top-10 level to quiet some of the expectations chatter.
In theory, Ross should take another step next season if he can stay healthy, especially thanks to the presence of an offensive mind like Zac Taylor running the offense.
But keep in mind something like the above. As Evan Silva of Rotoworld pointed out, Ross has an uphill battle in one advanced metric from Pro Football Focus — though a positive trend is emerging.
Over the past two years, Nelson Agholor and Rashard Higgins shredded bust labels of their own despite serious trends working against them in the yards-per-route-run stat.
For Agholor in 2017, it was all about Carson Wentz coming into his own as a sophomore and throwing 33 scores, allowing the wideout to catch eight of them. For Higgins in Cleveland last year, it was all about the switch to Baker Mayfield under center after a coaching switch.
Could a coaching switch do the same for Ross? If an offensive mind like Taylor can free him up for plays outside of the red zone, he could be the next to join the list of rebounds.
