As a unit, the Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers rival that of any NFL team. The talent at the top sells tickets but the talent in the middle and bottom of the depth chart are what sets a good unit apart from great. Is it too soon to call the Bengals wide receiver room great? Maybe, although those top two are elite and they have a lot of talent waiting in the wings.
On Friday afternoon, along with corner Nate Brooks and UDFA rookie Ryan Rehkow, the Bengals announced they were signing UFL star, Hakeem Butler. While these could all just be camp bodies, the Butler signing could be more.
The Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver Depth Got Stronger
Who is Hakeem Butler?
NFL Draft fans remember Butler from his days at Iowa State. He had a breakout campaign as a sophomore in 2017 where he hauled in 41 passes for 696 yards and seven touchdowns. Then, as a junior, he took the Big 12 by storm. Butler went off for 1,318 yards and nine touchdowns off just 60 receptions. His 22 yards per reception led the Big 12 and only trailed two players nationally.
He ended up a fourth-round selection by the Arizona Cardinals but never appeared in a game due to a broken hand. The following fall, he was released by the Cardinals. Butler was then signed to the Carolina Panthers practice squad in 2020 where the Philadelphia Eagles plucked him. He appeared in two games for the Eagles, mostly on special teams. In total, he has logged a single NFL snap on offense.
Then, he was signed and cut by two different Canadian Football League teams before landing with the St. Louis Battlehawks for the 2023 XFL season. He made the switch to tight end and finished second in the league with 599 yards off 51 receptions. His eight touchdowns led the way, however. Butler was released to allow him to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was waived/injured in the fall. He went back to the Battlehawks for the inaugural UFL season. There, he led the UFL with 652 yards off just 45 receptions. His five scores were tied for second.
Now, he lands with the Bengals in hopes of parlaying that Spring League success and finally catching on in the NFL as a depth piece in one of the top receiving corps in the NFL.
Hakeem Butler
6'5 / 227 lbs / 28 years old
40 time: 4.48His best season in college was with Brock Purdy
60 rec / 1,318 yards / 9 tdsPlayed alongside A.J McCarron last year, who was throwing him the ball like he was A.J. Green. pic.twitter.com/y04tn4kQ5F
— Mike R Sole (@MikeRSole) July 25, 2024
A Top-Heavy Room
The majority of the production at wide receiver is going to go through the top two, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. In terms of duos in the NFL, the two Bengals are among the best despite some amnesia.
Chase is one of the top players not just at the position but in the NFL as a whole, which makes his recent 45th placement in the NFL Top 100 that much more mind-boggling. You’d be hard-pressed to find any ranking with him outside the top 20. Here at LWOS, we ranked him 18th.
Additionally, Higgins’ value has been forgotten throughout the whole contract debacle. Higgins is one of the best WR2s in the NFL and will end up getting WR1 money before next season. Of course, he was hampered by injuries last year, only playing in 12 games and managing 656 yards and five touchdowns. Statistically, it was the worst of his career.
The thing is, Burrow, Chase, and Higgins did not play together fully healthy very often last year. Burrow had the calf issue and then the wrist injury later on while Higgins dealt with hamstring issues. According to Paul Dehner, Jr. of The Athletic, the trio shared the field while fully healthy a grand total of 121 snaps.
“Extract the first four weeks of the calf injury that turned Burrow into a shell of himself and, of course, the wrist injury that ended his season in Baltimore. Then drop in a hamstring injury to Higgins in the middle of the season, taking him out of two games. The Bengals were left with three games against the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and Buffalo Bills with the full complement of their three-headed destroyer.”
If memory serves, the Bengals were 3-0 in those games and won pretty comfortably in the latter two.
Adding Depth
The WR3 battle is going to be one to keep an eye on. Rookie Jermaine Burton has been showing out in camp. He was a bit of a late bloomer at Alabama who flashed but didn’t put it all together as one would expect from an Alabama receiver. Even then, he has the athletic tools and showed enough on tape to warrant the third-round selection.
With him, Andrei Iosivas has been turning heads. The second-year player out of Princeton was a sixth-round pick and has been easing his way into the rotation. Last year, he got on the field for 266 snaps and turned it into 116 yards and four touchdowns off 15 catches. He found the endzone twice in the Week 18 win.
Charlie Jones, another second-year receiver, has been right there, also working for playing time in the slot. Last year, he managed 64 yards off seven receptions. He was a punt return threat as well, returning 23 punts for 10.8 yards per and even scored once.
Finally, Trenton Irwin has been a fan-favorite bottom-of-the-depth-chart guy. Over the last two years, Irwin has developed into a solid depth piece, hauling in 40 passes for 547 yards and five touchdowns. He earned the trust of Burrow down the stretch of the 2022 season and it’ll be difficult to take his roster spot.
Butler’s Role
In today’s NFL, you can’t have too much wide receiver talent. If the Bengals have an opportunity to raise the floor of the wide receiver room, they had to take it.
Butler is a low-risk, decent-reward signing. Thus far in his NFL career, Butler has yet to live up to even his fourth-round pedigree. However, when given the chance in the XFL and UFL, he was one of the best in the league.
In his time with Cincinnati, Burrow has been able to get the most out of every receiver he’s had. Even in games without Chase and/or Higgins, the Bengals offense was able to get it going. Now, Butler adds another potential big-play threat. The Bengals can do much worse than Butler for a seventh receiver.
While the big-name players like Burrow, Chase, and Higgins will carry the offense. However, under-the-radar moves like signing Butler could be the difference to give the Bengals a kick.
Main Image: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
