Dohnte Meyers keeps adding to his story

In Week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the first game that the Cincinnati Bengals played with Andrei Iosivas on IR, the plan was that Colbie Young would have a significantly expanded role. That plan lasted exactly one snap as Young got injured on his first play. Dohnte Meyers had to step up in roles he hadn’t practiced all week. How Meyers handled that specific challenge as wide receiver No. 3 was viewed by the coaching staff as a massive accomplishment.

Then in Sunday’s 22-17 loss to the Jaguars, Meyers one-upped what he had done the week prior.

“Two weeks in a row, Dohnte’s been thrust into roles that he didn’t necessarily practice during the week,” Dan Pitcher said. “There has been little to no error in terms of assignment alignment.”

First, Ja’Marr Chase went down with a concussion in the first half against the Jaguars and Meyers officially stepped into the starting lineup. Then, Tee Higgins went down with a quad injury in the fourth quarter. Down the stretch, Meyers was effectively WR1.

“His role has expanded, and he hasn’t blinked,” wide receivers coach Troy Walters said. “Early in the season, he may have had four-or-five plays that he knew he was going to get in on. Now, he’s almost a starter. Joe (Burrow), the staff and the rest of the players have confidence in him that he’s going to make plays.”

Meyers’ story would have been incredible if the ending were simply him making the Bengals’ Opening Day 53-man roster after starting his college football career on an academic scholarship at Presbyterian, transferring to Delta State because an old coach recognized the unique spelling of Meyers’ name when he saw it in the transfer portal and then spending two years in the CFL. The story that Meyers has authored over the last four weeks adds to the legend of one of the most impressive underdog stories in years at Paycor Stadium.

Meyers ranks fourth among rookie wide receivers in the NFL this year in receiving yards, and he made the catch of his young career to pick up 15 yards on what could have been the go-ahead touchdown drive in Week 4 (Then on the following play, the refs missed what should have been a blatant DPI call on the Jaguars on a slant to Meyers that would have gotten the Bengals near a goal-to-go situation).

Down the stretch against the Jaguars, the Bengals were running their offense through the 26-year-old rookie who’s the same age as Ja’Marr Chase.

“What was special about the last game was that (Meyers) played all three positions without practicing it,” Walters said. “That last drive, a lot of those plays that we made were at the end of the game, you don’t have any timeouts, they’re specialty plays that you don’t really practice. When they come up, you have to be ready. They gave us a chance to win.”

Just four weeks ago, Meyers’ role on the team was punt returner.

In Week 1, he took 10 offensive snaps. He got the ball twice, and he picked up 28 yards. He delivered an 18-yard catch that was one of the biggest plays of that game. For a second, it looked like he might take that ball to the house.

In Week 2, Meyers was a shoestring tackle away from taking the opening kick return for a touchdown.

It’s that potential to generate explosive plays and that ability to accelerate that has caught the coaching staff’s eye since OTAs.

Outside of Ja’Marr Chase, Meyers is the best YAC threat that Zac Taylor has had in Cincinnati.

“That’s one of the things that stood out in the offseason was just that 0-100 ability,” Taylor said. “His ability to stop on a dime and get going north and south.”

After playing a very limited role on offense in Week 1 and Week 2, Meyers played 32 snaps in Week 3 and stepped up as the offense played without Iosivas and Young for the first time this year. Meyers gained 23 yards on a catch early in the game after making a defender miss. In the second quarter, he picked up another first down by making a defender miss.

“In terms of the ‘make them miss,’ the burst go get big plays, it’s as close to Ja’Marr as we’ve probably had,” Taylor said. “Ja’Marr’s obviously top of the chain there in terms of any ball he catches, he can go to the house. And Dohnte is probably next in line with that ability.”

In Week 4, on the Bengals’ first drive against the Jaguars, Burrow made a check at the line of scrimmage when he was expecting pressure on 2nd and 15. The play turned into a screen for Meyers, who zipped up the field and gained 16 yards. He was another shoestring tackle away from a big touchdown.

“He has shiftiness,” Walters said. “He can make guys miss. Short area quickness. He’s due. Hopefully, this is a week he does that and creates an explosive.”

Meyers finished the game with seven catches for 82 yards. Because of Chase and Higgins’ injuries, this was the first game where Meyers really got a shot at a consistent amount of playing time. He looked the part.

The best part of his performance was how reliably he executed on plays and in roles that were new to him.

You’d think there would be pressure on a receiver getting his first real opportunity in the NFL, but Meyers met the moment.

“It’s about how we practice,” Walters said. “Tee and Ja’Marr set the tone. Day 1 (of the offseason), I want everyone to be great and prepare like you’re going to play. The history speaks for itself. Usually, everyone on the roster has opportunities to be elevated. I always remind them that any game, you might be elevated and we’re going to do what we do.”

With Meyers’ performance on Sunday, he officially joined the list of Bengals receivers over the last six years who popped up out of nowhere and turned into playmakers. The Bengals are pretty good at this. Meyers follows in the footsteps of Trent Taylor, Trenton Irwin, Mitchell Tinsley and others.

“We get these guys who have been counted out, these undrafted free agents or guys from Canada who understand this might be their only chance to make it in this league,” Walters said.

With the Bengals, they know they’ll get the best chance possible to show what they can do.

“The proof is in the pudding.”

As meaningful as the contributions from Trent Taylor (the two-point conversion in Kansas City), Irwin (he got several game balls for huge plays and caught four touchdowns in 2022) and Tinsley (picking up the offense with contested catches against the Jaguars and Ravens in 2025, and then returning to the team last Tuesday and making more significant plays last Sunday versus Jacksonville), Meyers’ story is the one that feels the most like a movie considering how long his journey to the NFL took him.

Meyers’ story is one that’s still being written.

Week 5 might be an even bigger game for him. The status of Chase (concussion protocol) and Higgins (groin) is up in the air. The Bengals’ only two healthy receivers on the active roster right now are Meyers and Tinsley.

The bright side for Meyers is that this week, for the first time in several weeks, he’ll actually get a chance to rep the plays in practice that he ends up running on game day.

“Since he’s really shown up in January, he’s made plays,” Pitcher said. “It’s hard to keep a guy like that off the field.”