Bengals' Andy Dalton, Tyler Boyd, Auden Tate Fantasy Stock Post-John Ross Injury

A shoulder injury will interrupt John Ross III's strong start to the 2019 season, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.

Garafolo reported Ross was injured during Monday's 27-3 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers and could be out for about a month.

Ross was Cincinnati's leading receiver through four games, with 328 yards and three touchdowns on 16 catches. His absence will have a domino effect for the rest of the Bengals offense.

Andy Dalton is hit the hardest—thankfully only figuratively this time after getting sacked eight times by Pittsburgh.

Dalton is averaging a personal-best 287.5 yards per game, but his 82.2 passer rating is the second-lowest of his career. Most concerning, his passing yards have decreased in each of the last three weeks after he went for 418 yards in Cincinnati's Week 1 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks.

Without his biggest downfield threat, Dalton will probably make even more short throws.

Even with Ross healthy, there isn't a compelling reason to have Dalton on your roster. Without Ross, his value sinks further.

Tyler Boyd and Auden Tate could be getting a value boost.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, A.J. Green is expected to miss Sunday's game and Cincinnati's Week 6 encounter with the Baltimore Ravens, so he's not in the picture for the time being.

Boyd's 39 targets are first on the team, though he's only averaging 10.5 yards per catch and is still without a touchdown reception. The last two numbers are why he's delivering flex-like fantasy production.

Already the Bengals' No. 1 receiving option, Boyd will likely get an even higher volume of the team's targets. That could be enough to get him into WR2 territory. He's worth starting in Week 5, especially with the Arizona Cardinals on deck.

A non-factor through four weeks, Tate is poised to get the biggest bump because he's basically on the ground floor. He has caught 11 passes for 144 yards, a solid return so far for a 2018 seventh-round draft pick.

Ross' injury means Tate becomes the No. 2 target for Dalton.

Fantasy owners desperate for a receiver would be wise to look at the second-year pass-catcher since he's going to be available in almost all standard leagues.

Starting Tate would be too risky, but he's worth stashing on your bench for a week to see if his production improves with Ross and Green both unavailable.