Andrew

Hawkins

A local product, Artrell’s little brother was a special teams dynamo in preseason action. He won’t see action on offense barring a string of injuries at receiver. Former University of Cincinnati receiver Armon Binns has been added to the practice squad.

Andre Caldwell was forced to the outside in the absence of A.J. Green, giving the pint-sized Hawkins (5-foot-8, 165 pounds) a one-game cameo in the slot. With Green tentatively expected to return in Week 12, Hawkins isn’t worth a flier in PPR leagues.

Tate ran with the first-team offense in OTAs last week, but it was based purely on seniority. Tate caught zero passes last season, and may not even retain return duties if he keeps his roster spot. Hawkins caught 23 passes in 13 games after being signed off the practice squad, but is severely under-sized at 5-foot-8, 165. He’ll likely be cut if Jordan Shipley’s knee is 100 percent.

Promoted from the practice squad in Week 3, Hawkins caught 23 passes in 13 games last season. Severely under-sized at 5-foot-8, 165 pounds, Hawkins isn’t likely to make the cut if Jordan Shipley (ACL surgery) is 100 percent.

Andy Dalton has a 140.0+ passer rating on throws to Hawkins. “I get chills thinking about Andrew taking the ball for that touchdown,” said backup QB Bruce Gradkowski. Hawkins’ role was limited in Week 2, but he impressed by making five or six defenders miss on a 50-yard touchdown. The Sideline View’s Adam Caplan notes that Hawkins has become a “huge element” to the passing attack, functioning as an extension of the running game. He’s worthy of a roster spot in PPR formats.

A.J. Green led the way with 66 snaps and Armon Binns was second with 48. Hawkins is locked in as the slot receiver, but the Bengals don’t use three-wide sets very often when nursing a lead. He didn’t have a catch until the fourth quarter Sunday and saw just three targets on the day.

Hawkins caught all three targets that came his way. His value to the Bengals offense is that his speed and shiftiness allows A.J. Green to take the top off of opposing defenses. Hawkins is on pace for 60 catches, 988 yards, and eight touchdowns. We’d like to see his target count rise before counting on him for fantasy purposes.

Five touches aren’t going to get it done. Hawkins can make things happen with the ball in his hands, but the Bengals have shown no commitment to making him a featured player in the passing attack. Hawkins’ pace stats at the halfway point would be deceiving because they are very front-loaded. “Baby Hawk” has not cleared 50 receiving yards or scored a touchdown in the past five games. He won’t be a quality fantasy option when the Bengals host the Giants in Week 10.

The fact that Hawkins didn’t take part in the entire practice suggests he may have injured the knee during the practice, which would obviously jeopardize his Week 11 availability. Hawkins hasn’t been a fantasy option recently, anyway.

Hawkins may be leaned on a bit more with rookie Mohamed Sanu’s season over due to a stress fracture in his foot. The Bengals have not given thought to starting Hawkins, however, and he’s been off the fantasy radar for a while.