Preseason football is a time for teams to get things figured out. Not just the makeup of their rosters for the next season, but the new wrinkles in the offense and defense, integrating new players into the system, and figuring out the pecking orders at each position. That last point is going to be interesting for the Cincinnati Bengals, particularly when it comes to the pass catchers for quarterback Joe Burrow.
Clearly the top option in the offense is going to be Ja’Marr Chase, followed closely by fellow wide receiver Tee Higgins. After Higgins, though, the offense has a pretty sizable void. In previous seasons, that void was filled by #3 receiver Tyler Boyd. This year, Boyd has made his way to the Tennessee Titans, and the Bengals are left looking for someone to step up and take his place.
Cincinnati drafted multiple offensive weapons in the 2024 NFL Draft with the idea of one of them taking Boyd’s spot, but one Bengals beat writer has some interesting thoughts on which one will ultimately be the one to step up. Paul Dehner of The Athletic recently stated on a podcast that he believes rookie tight end Erick All will out-produce fellow rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton.
The Bengals took Burton in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Alabama. The next round, Cincinnati took All, the former Michigan Wolverines tight end. All suffered back and knee injuries during his college days and started the season on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list for the Bengals. Yet, despite the later drafting and the injury, it is All who has been a bigger part of the Bengals offense this preseason than Burton.
It’s a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison pitting a tight end against a wide receiver. But even amongst the wide receivers, Burton is struggling to stand out in Bengals camp. Third-year player Andrei Iosivas is likely first in line to be the next man up for Cincinnati. Players like Kwame Lassiter and even the recently-signed Hakeem Butler saw more action in Saturday’s preseason game. While it may be startling to see someone predict All to outperform Burton, all of the early signs seem to point that way.
