The buzz in their old stomping grounds is how much trust Taylor and quarterback Joe Burrow have in Meyers. Just 3:19 left Sunday, and the Bengals starting the drive protecting a 33-27 lead when Taylor hoped the Bucs would play zone so Burrow could get the ball to All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase. But Tampa Bay took him away, and there was Meyers catching a flare, and it was 18 yards in a flash.
“Joe did a good job with the location on the ball, allowing him to catch and turn and get upfield,” Taylor said Monday. “Just really impressive. The plays that came his way. He made them.”
Meyers has been talking about trust for weeks.
“That’s something I wanted to do when I first got here,” Meyers said Monday. “Being a new guy, instill that I’m hard working with you guys and I’m working for the same goal. For that to be reciprocated and to gain that trust for the opportunities is pivotal.”
When he heard that Meyers had driven overnight from Atlanta at Burrow’s request for a throwing session, it reminded Hawkins of a moment he had with Bengals veteran safety Reggie Nelson in the weight room at Georgetown College during training camp. Hawkins had been there about four days, didn’t know anybody, and was a bit stunned when Nelson asked him what year this was for him.
“Rookie,” Hawkins said, and he had to say it again because Nelson said, “You’re no damn rookie.” Then Nelson asked where he played the year before.
“So you’re used to playing against grown men. You’re no bleeping rookie,” Nelson told him.
“Getting a call to throw and then busing up from Atlanta, a rookie doesn’t do that,” Hawkins says. “A rookie doesn’t know how important that is. But he’s been around professionals, and it certainly seems by the way he talks and acts that Dohnte is a consummate professional.”
Hawkins also says what helped his NFL journey is that the CFL is a veteran’s league and tougher to make with 43 roster spots and 19 going to Canadians. The Alouettes’ receiver room had two Hall-of-Famers, and Hawkins had to start on the CFL’s version of the practice squad. So did Meyers in 2024.
“In 2024, he was just getting his feet wet, like he was trying to understand what was going on. He was on the practice roster a little bit, then he got on (active), and then he got hurt,” Stegall says. “But in 2025, you could see his understanding of the game was at top-notch, and he could play with the speed that he has and the quickness that he has. Because when he gets the ball in his hand, if you’re not up in his face right away, he can make you miss.
“It’s evident what he did when he had his first catch last week, and what he was able to do in training camp and also in the preseason. He has some quick feet. He has some great ability. He’s not the biggest, but you don’t have to be the biggest when you’re as quick and fast as he is.”
Hawkins thinks it’s tougher to make tacklers miss in the NFL because the field is 11 yards narrower than in the CFL. But he also believes he was able to take advantage of his quickness in the NFL like he couldn’t in the CFL.
“I was a better NFL player than I was a Canadian player because it was like my speed and quickness finally fit in the NFL like a puzzle piece,” says Hawkins, who had 41 catches and five touchdowns in two seasons for Montreal.
“I think Dohnte has the same thing. He catches that out route. He makes a fake and cuts back, and it looks like a beautiful dance because everybody can run it and change direction like that … That (CFL) DB is probably two yards closer to the inside, so now it’s like when you catch it and have the effort to cut back, you might cut right back into him because he was a yard slower than the NFL DB.”
Hawkins also doesn’t think Meyers is headed back to Saskatchewan anytime soon. Big things are ahead, he thinks. If you A-I Meyers’ No. 81 with Antonio Brown’s Steelers No. 84 , a 5-10, 185-pound four-time All-Pro in Hawkins’ era, he doesn’t think you could notice much of a difference.
Stegall isn’t surprised Meyers is already a fan favorite in his hometown. “They like guys who work hard.” And Hawkins, who was and is very much a Cincy favorite, knows this town has grown accustomed to wide receivers in all shapes and sizes.
“He’s that type of Cincinnati wide receiver. It’s what the front office and the Brown family are better at than the rest of the NFL. Getting value for wide receivers,” Hawkins says. “In the last 20, 30 years, they’ve had top-level wide receivers. Literally, it’s deep.
“They don’t rebuild, they reload. Whether it’s guys that you expected to be past their prime coming in and playing to the next level, or guys like Andrew Hawkins or Dohnte Meyers that you’ve never heard of, and they become important pieces to the team. Or you get T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the seventh round, Chad Johnson in the second. Marvin Jones is a fifth-rounder. Mo (Sanu) a third. The list goes on and on. It’s what they’re better at than the rest of the NFL. Getting value and unearthing top-level receiver talent.”
The latest in the line looks like he won’t be a CFL Hall-of-Famer. And that’s just fine with this one.
“Believing in yourself and wanting to make your dreams come true. So shout out to him,” Stegall says. “I’m hoping he can play another 50 million years in the NFL.”