CINCINNATI -- Once Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu left the Cincinnati Bengals via free agency in March, the biggest offseason storyline swirling around the team centered upon what would be done to replace them.

Even in June, that question has been the most important one to a team coming off a franchise-best 12-win season and another division title.

Sure, perennial Pro Bowler A.J. Green in 2016 will give the Bengals his usual pass-catching production. And assuming tight end Tyler Eifert's recovery from a May ankle surgery goes well, he also should remain a key piece of Cincinnati's passing game. But aside from them, who else can quarterback Andy Dalton expect to pass to this season?

Possibly Tyler Boyd.

The rookie receiver should expect his share of catches this season as long as he progresses through training camp the same way he steadily improved during workouts this spring, his position coach said at the end of minicamp this month.

"He's been improving every day," receivers coach James Urban said the day the Bengals took off for the summer. "We're excited to see him and how he'll contribute to what we're going to do -- because he will.

"He's going to help us."

With that said, Urban isn't automatically writing Boyd into his WR2 or WR3 depth-chart spots just yet. As he mentioned to his rookies before minicamp ended, Urban believes the upcoming training camp to be one of the hardest sets of practices any of the young players have ever been through.

Under the often intense late-summer Ohio Valley sun, they will practice virtually every day in full pads. Also, NFL practice rules will permit them to fight through the type of bump-and-run, line-of-scrimmage hand-checking and general tight coverage the Bengals' defensive backs are known for showcasing. The days of the gliding through routes, untouched, that went on during the non-padded spring practices, are over. On the horizon is coverage that will be a little more difficult to navigate for Boyd and other young receivers.

Still, Urban is expecting a good camp from the second-round pick, who has so far matched his expectations.

"He's what I thought he was," Urban said of Boyd. "He's really crafty, knows how to catch the ball, takes good angles, knows the game. He's going to have to be a technician. He's going to have to be perfect with his alignment and assignment and some of those things. And he will. We'll get him there."