LaFell was signed by the Bengals to help fill the holes in the receiving corps left by the departures of free agents Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu. With six years of NFL experience and 278 career catches, Brandon is expected to step into the starting lineup opposite A.J. Green.

"I feel like he's been here for a while and that it isn't his first year here," said Dalton. "He came in and picked things up pretty quickly. He's really going to help us out.

"He's not asking a ton of questions and asking me to repeat things. He's got it. You can tell that he's studied a lot and been in his playbook and he's learned a lot of what we're doing."

"It's nothing different from anywhere else I've been," said LaFell. "I've always had a lot demanded out of me and I always demand a lot out of myself. There's a good opportunity here for me so all I'm going to do is go out there and make the plays that are available and do whatever I need to do to help this team win."

LaFell spent his first four NFL seasons with Carolina before signing as a free agent with New England in 2014. In his first year with the Patriots, Brandon had a career-high 74 catches for 953 yards and caught a touchdown pass in New England's Super Bowl victory over Seattle.

"I give a lot of credit to Tom (Brady)," said LaFell. "He's one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play this game and he made the game much easier for me. He made it slower my first year in the offense. He made it so simple that I just had to go out there and play fast and catch the ball."

LaFell says there are similarities between Brady and Dalton.

"Just the way they command the huddle," he said. "They both go out there and get us in the best plays possible no matter what the defense is showing and deliver the ball on time."

The 29-year-old out of LSU began last season with a broken foot and finished with 37 catches for 515 yards. But he says he's fully healthy now and expects to thrive with opposing defenses focusing on five-time Pro Bowler A.J. Green.

"It means I'm going to get a lot of man-to-man coverage and I don't have to worry about the defense shading to my side," said LaFell. "Every time he touches the ball he can take it for a touchdown, so it takes a lot of pressure off of me knowing that I don't have to make every play.

"I definitely showed what I can do if I'm healthy. Last season I didn't play healthy at all, but this year I have another chance to go out there and put my best foot forward and make up for what I did last year."

LaFell already has what his teammates are chasing – a Super Bowl ring. He says signing with Cincinnati gives him a legitimate chance to win another one.

"Since we won that game, all I've been thinking about is winning another one," said LaFell. "I told guys it's like playing golf. Once you hit that perfect swing that's all you're chasing the rest of the time that you're playing. It's the same way with football. Once you win a big game you want to continue to win big games. That's my goal every year."

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