Is Jermaine Burton or Andrei Iosivas the Fantasy Football WR3 for the Bengals?

The Cincinnati Bengals passing game is one of great interest to fantasy football players. With star quarterback Joe Burrow set to return from injury, gamers want to make sure they get a piece of this offense.

While the Bengals have two established receivers in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the WR3 job is completely up for grabs. The two players competing for this role are rookie Jermaine Burton and second-year man Andrei Iosivas.

With unproven options at running back, Cincinnati may have to rely on their passing game more than ever. This makes the battle between Burton and Iosivas particularly interesting, but which one should fantasy gamers draft in 2024? Let’s have a quick dialogue to answer this question.

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Jermaine Burton 2024 Fantasy Football Outlook

The Bengals' third-round pick got off to a hot start this offseason. Early reports suggested he was hitting it off with Burrow, and it was expected he would capture the WR3 role. However, he has slowed down a bit following an injury that caused him to miss a few days of practice. Burton is undeniably talented, and some pundits pegged him as the best receiver in the 2024 class, following the big three of Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze.

Jermaine Burton cut up

True burner speed and the tracking and body control to make good on it. Great hands and concentration to work over the middle as well.pic.twitter.com/BDOMsZZE71

— mike (@bengals_sans) May 2, 2024

Jermaine Burton.

This man is going to be so much fun in this offense!!! pic.twitter.com/VHNt4WEjhF

— Patrick Carey (@PatCareySports) July 27, 2024

Andrei Iosivas 2024 Fantasy Football Outlook

Iosivas is entering his second year in the league after being drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Bengals. He didn’t do much during his rookie season, as he only posted a 15-116-4 stat line. However, he has reportedly been turning heads throughout training camp. There’s been a steady stream of reports suggesting Iosivas is now the favorite to open the season as the team’s WR3.

“For all the hype of third-round pick Jermaine Burton and his potential to make an impact filling the role vacated by Tyler Boyd, there’s just no way to avoid the Andrei Iosivas hype. He’s been the offensive star of camp, a trend that continued after his initial eye-popping debut… https://t.co/ypYms05aWq

— 32BeatWriters (@32BeatWriters) July 31, 2024

Joe Burrow throws a fade to Andrei Iosivas who goes up and makes the catch pic.twitter.com/UzHKbP5MIZ

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 5, 2024

Who Should I Draft?

Based on pure talent, Burton is the preferred pick. However, we cannot ignore the consistent flow of news suggesting that Iosivas is having a fantastic camp and is the favorite for the WR3 role. For now, we have to give the edge to him entering the season.

Things could change fast, though, and Burton could close the gap throughout the season and force his way into a more prominent role. Should Tee Higgins miss time (and that has been a theme throughout Higgins’ career), Burton would be a clear beneficiary. Consider Iosivas the safer pick in deeper leagues with multiple flex spots, but Burton is the high-upside play and is talented enough to force his way onto the field and carve out a larger role.

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