Much has been made about the Cincinnati Bengals draft class and the fact that they used a third-round pick on Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton. Wide receiver was not a massive need for the Bengals in 2024, per se. However, the team does like to draft a year in advance. With the uncertainty surrounding Tee Higgins — ie. he’s on the Franchise Tag with seemingly not much hope of getting a long-term contract signed — and Tyler Boyd heading to Tennessee, Ja’Marr Chase needs a partner for the future.
Will Burton be the guy to step up as a rookie and ease all worries? The Bengals have been spoiled with Chase, Higgins, and Boyd over the last three seasons. Even after using two picks on receivers in the 2023 draft, there are concerns about who will be Chase’s running mate when he ends up getting his market-setting record.
That could be Burton.
Expectations for Bengals Rookies: Jermaine Burton
High-End: Solidly WR3 With Flashes of Being Able to be the WR2 of the Future
Burton is a talented receiver, there is no denying that fact. Plus, the Bengals, historically, draft receivers well with premium picks (no, don’t look up John Ross). Burton started off at Georgia and was productive for his two years as a Bulldog. In those two years, Burton recorded 53 receptions for 901 yards and seven touchdowns. Then, he took his talents to Tuscaloosa and took a step forward. In his two years with Alabama, Burton hauled in 79 passes for 1,475 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Burton tested quite well, resulting in a 9.09 RAS. For comparison, if he is to take over the slot role, Boyd had a 4.27 RAS. In terms of sheer athleticism, you can expect Burton to be better. The strength of Boyd is his reliability and lack of drops. Now, imagine that but with more of an ability to hit a home run. In 145 targets over his final three years in college, PFF credited Burton with two drops. Not bad.
Cincinnati Selects WR Jermaine Burton 80th Overall
🟠 Only Two Drops Since 2021 (145 Targets) pic.twitter.com/IShamBo4Ja
— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 27, 2024
The plan is quite possibly that. Boyd was on the field for 824 offensive snaps, only behind Chase. Someone has to take those snaps. If all three can remain healthy, the Bengals can come close to having three 1,000-yard receivers, a feat they narrowly missed in both 2021 and 2022. Is that about as optimistic as you can get? Absolutely. Burton has the talent to do so and with 17 games, it’s not too out of reach for an offense expected to fire on all cylinders.
Even if Burton turns in a similar year as Boyd did last year (67 catches, 667 yards, two touchdowns), it’s a win. However, he has the opportunity to make the Bengals’ decision to not extend Higgins hurt less.
Low-End: Passed Over on Depth Chart
Rookie Ja’Marr Chase was electric. Rookie Tee Higgins was impressive considering how bad that offense was plus the Joe Burrow injury. Can Burton have a similar year? It’s possible! However, it’s also possible a host of things go wrong. We aren’t in the business of predicting players end up as busts, but there are ways Burton’s rookie season ends with him as a non-factor.
The most likely case is that the WR3 role is more like a WR3 by committee. Burton will get plenty of opportunities but Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas will as well. Both Jones and Iosivas flashed as rookies in a very limited capacity. Jones looks like he’s a solid slot receiver and he turned seven receptions into 64 yards. Three of those receptions went for first downs. He’s also going to be on the field as a punt returner, thus giving coaches more things to look at.
Iosivas has always been an uber-athletic project. He came into the NFL with a 9.96 RAS, good for the top RAS in the history of Princeton in the draft (since 1987). He came into his own toward the end of the season as he turned in a year with 15 receptions for 116 yards and four touchdowns. When the season was lost, he recorded nine receptions for 72 yards and two scores in his final two outings in Week 16 and Week 18. Iosivas likely won’t be a slot option (unless they are looking to create a massive mismatch) but he could end up as the Higgins understudy ripe for a bigger role in 2025.
When it comes to Burton, Jones is likely the biggest threat to playing time. Both can play in the slot and Jones has a year on Burton.
Realistic Expectations
Of the two possibilities, Burton is more likely to be closer to the high-end than the low. In all reality, Burton’s athleticism is going to be what gets him the opportunity to go out and take control of the WR3 role. Now, expecting Burton to go for 1,000 yards may be a tad optimistic. However, his replicating Boyd’s 2023 season is well within the scope of realistic expectations.
Minicamp, with Higgins and Chase absent, only did Burton a massive favor. He started working on chemistry with Burrow and reports out of camp were that he’s tearing it up. Burton in the slot is a mismatch. He is a physical receiver who actually projects to end up as an outside receiver. Assuming he will take over the Higgins role in 2025, Burton will be able to get his feet wet in the slot.
While Boyd may have an inch or two on Burton (in the Tennessee Titans’ press release, they said he was six-foot-two), the rookie is significantly more explosive. Add in that added home-run threat with the fact that he has just as reliable hands and the Bengals may have gotten a steal at 80 overall.
Will Burton be a Rookie of the Year candidate? Probably not. Can he provide a promising glimpse at what the future will hold at WR2? Absolutely.
More Bengals Rookie Expectations:
Main Image: Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
