Bengals WR Mohamed Sanu caught four passes for 47 yards and a touchdown Sunday for the Bengals and emerged as another weapon opposite A.J. Green. (AP Images)

Third-round pick Mohamed Sanu walked out of the Bengals locker room Monday with a football tucked under his right arm. Tape wrapped around it signified it was the football Sanu caught the day before during his first NFL touchdown.

Even as he left Paul Brown Stadium with it, he wasn't sure where it would go. Probably give it to his brother-in-law, he though aloud, but the thought hadn't really crossed his mind. That's likely because his rise to relevancy in the Bengals offensive arsenal occurred so quickly.

In Sunday's win against the Giants, Sanu played in 61 percent of the team's offensive snaps. In the nine weeks prior, he touched the field in only 11 percent of offensive snaps including being left on the inactive in Week 6 at Cleveland.

Gradually, Sanu pushed his way into a playing time at the No. 2 WR position desperately in need of a playmaker. The inability of anyone to take pressure off A.J. Green handcuffed the offense during their four-game losing streak.

He caught the eyes of offensive coordinator Jay Gruden in a limited role against Pittsburgh and Denver, but was given the keys to the car Sunday. He drove it well catching four passes for 47 yards with an acrobatic touchdown reception. He also ran for three yards to gain a first down.

Sanu knew he either seized the opportunity given to him in recent weeks or fall back in the constant shuffle of receivers. Three of his five touches went for either a first down or touchdown.

“I feel like these past couple of games when your number is called you got to make a play, you got to move the chains,” he said. “We need those second-down, third-down conversions to keep drives alive.”

The Rutgers rookie said the day felt like college with how involved he became in the offensive gameplan. That's an encouraging sign for the Bengals. Sanu shattered the Big East record for receptions his senior season when his 115 grabs left Larry Fitzgerald's 92 from 2003 in the dust.

Gruden admired his reputation as a gamer entering the draft and now sees his analysis paying off. Sanu lines up at all three receiver positions but bringing stability to the outside would solve a gaping hole in the Bengals attack.

“In his snaps that he had yesterday, he did a good job in them,” Marvin Lewis said. “It was a good day for Mo.”

The vote of confidence in his performance in an increased role makes him feel like there could be more gameballs in need of a place to go. It may be time to investiage a designated mantle.

“It gives you a boost of confidence and makes you work that much harder,” Sanu said. “Makes you want to get that much better and just do anything you can to help this offense and this team win.”

Follow Paul Dehner Jr. for Bengals updates on Twitter at @CBSBengals.