Tag: Andrei Iosivas

Bengals tout Andrei Iosivas as example of Senior Bowl’s importance

The Senior Bowl is underway, with the Bengals pointing at Andrei Iosivas’ rookie season.

The Cincinnati Bengals head to the Senior Bowl this week hoping to unearth more talent capable of helping the team right away.

And one only has to look to the immediate past to find out just how important that draft pitstop can be.

Around the Bengals, Andrei Iosivas is the name constantly cited as why this week is so important for their draft process. Just take the word of Bengals’ East Coast scout Andrew Johnson.

“Andrei was the perfect Senior Bowl player,” Johnson said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “That’s what this game really shows you. Can those guys who didn’t play against great competition hold up every day down here?”

Iosivas, a sixth-round pick in 2023, stuck out to the Bengals at the Senior Bowl because of the way he matched up against the competition. That was a huge ordeal for scouts to see him hold his own against SEC players at what is essentially an All-Star game after spending his college days at the smaller Princeton.

So while this feels like an exaggeration for an early-February draft event, this week’s Senior Bowl is a critical stop for a Bengals team that has worked with Iosivas and others like Cam Taylor-Britt in recent years.

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Chad Johnson approves of Andre Iosivas’ McDonald’s choices

McDonald’s talk from Andre Iosivas gets a response from Chad Johnson.

Cincinnati Bengals rookie wide receiver Andrei Iosivas has the approval of Bengals legend Chad Johnson.

We’re talking about approval of McDonald’s choices, of course.

Ochocinco, infamous for his usage of McDonald’s over the years, got asked about how he views the order or Iosivas. The rookie recently revealed that in Hawaii, he’d get a special Spam meal that they serve locally.

“I used to have it for breakfast every day. Like spam eggs and rice from McDonald’s,” Iosivas said. “It’s like a special breakfast platter. You get spam, eggs, and rice. Put some soy sauce on top of that you’re set to go every day.”

Ochocinco’s response:

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Former Bengals coach points out drop off from Joe Burrow to Jake Browning

Joe Burrow to Jake Browning drop off explained through film.

With Joe Burrow out for the season, Jake Browning has taken the reins of the offense, and he struggled to get accustomed to the speed of the game in his first start against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which the Cincinnati Bengals lost 16-10.

The difference between Burrow and Browning was obvious as early as the third play of the day for the offense, pointed out by former Bengalsā€™ assistant offensive line and running backs coach Kyle Caskey on Twitter in a video where Browning didnā€™t see Andre Iosivas on a deep route where he was open.

Instead of hitting Iosivas for what would have likely been a touchdown pass if the throw was accurate, Browning took a sack and fumbled the ball, though the Bengals were able to recover it and punt it away the next play.

It was well-known that there would be a large downgrade with Burrow out, but the first week of Browning as the starter wasnā€™t encouraging for the Bengals playoff hopes that are still alive.

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Joe Burrow gets rookie WR Andrei Iosivas 1st NFL TD on his birthday

Joe Burrow hit Andrei Iosivas with a TD on his birthday.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw his second touchdown pass of Week 6 against Seattle, hitting rookie wideout Andrei Iosivas for a touchdown.

It was a special moment, to say the least, as it was Iosivas’ first touchdown of his young career — on his birthday, no less.

The score put the Bengals up 14-7, though perhaps the biggest highlight of all came after the play.

Once the score was official, cameras caught Burrow sprinting to the sideline to talk to officials, then to the endzone to pick up the ball and personally bring it back to the rookie.

Despite the chaos, it was Burrow making sure the rookie got his first touchdown ball on his birthday.

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Bengals rookie WR Andrei Iosivas happy with his preseason performance

Yoshi is on the rise for the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals preseason is officially over, and the newly drafted rookies were able to get some good work in against other NFL teams in game.

Bengals sixth-round draft pick, wide receiver Andrei Iosivas, has been grabbing the attention of people after playing well in the time he saw on the field.

Iosivas left the preseason with 12 catches for 129 yards and caught a touchdown, after which he hit the griddy since he said Jaā€™Marr Chase told him he needed to if he scored.

He thought the preseason went well for him and he was able to make an impression on the Bengals early on.

“I took every rep here very seriously and I thought you know I showed out and made some plays and also learned a lot from the bad ones.ā€ Iosivas said.

While the Bengals donā€™t have any issues at the wide receiver position right now, it has to be nice to know they might have found some good depth at the position on day three of the draft in Iosivas.

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Andrei Iosivas hit the griddy at Ja’Marr Chase’s request

The Bengals rookie had other TD celebration plans until Ja’Marr Chase asked.

Andrei Iosivas, drafted to the Cincinnati Bengals to join the same depth chart as Ja’Marr Chase, surely knew all about the griddy upon arrival.

But funny story — Iosivas got his first griddy on before the regular season even started, hitting the move after scoring a touchdown in the third and final preseason game against Washington.

And it was Chase who asked him to do it, as captured by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

Ja’Marr Chase asked Iosivas if he scored to do “The Griddy.” Iosivas had planned to pay homage to his home state of Hawaii, but he’ll save that for his first official touchdown.

“Ja’Marr asked kindly and I’m a Bengal. That’s kind of the thing,” Iosivas said ā€¦

Maybe Chase just wanted Iosivas to get some practice in and evaluate the rookie’s moves in real game action?

Jokes aside, Iosivas has enjoyed an incredible summer, locking down a 53 spot and immediate backup role, to the point it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him out there in certain packages and with a serious chance to celebrate however he sees fit.

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Watch: Bengals rookie Andrei Iosivas scores, hits a griddy

Andrei Iosivas keeps breaking out.

The Cincinnati Bengals have a preseason breakout rookie on their hands with wide receiver Andrei Iosivas.

Iosivas entered training camp as a first-year player who might be able to live up to some of his immense physical traits right out of Princeton and perhaps make the final 53.

He exits camp as a lock and one of the immediate backups with eyebrow-raising upside.

The strong summer continued for Iosivas on Saturday against the Washington Commanders in the preseason finale, as he went up to get a pass from Jake Browning, scored, then even hit a Ja’Marr Chase-inspired griddy for good measure:

Iosivas obviously still isn’t going to challenge for major snaps in 2023, but the Bengals clearly have something there.

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Bengals love what rookie WR Andrei Iosivas has done so far

More Andrei Iosivas hype for the Bengals.

Cincinnati BengalsĀ rookie wideout Andrei Iosivas hasn’t turned out to be too much of a “project” as anticipated.

Now involved in 20ish targets over the course of two preseason games to start his career, Iosivas has been something of an unexpected breakout for the Bengals so far.

But for Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, it’s not so much aĀ surpriseĀ as it is confirmation of what they saw on film.

Here’s what Callahan toldĀ Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

“Surprise is probably the wrong word. I was curious to see what he would look like coming from an Ivy League school (Princeton) and not playing at a level some of these guys play at. I liked to see where his football knowledge and his ability to play against NFL-style coverages and players and he’s certainly shown well for himself and happy with what we’ve seen.” ā€¦

Given the steady climb, the conversation around Iosivas is now one of whether he will actually be active on gameday — not whether he’ll make the final 53.

And based on other rumblings around Iosivas’ trajectory, his usage on special teams already hints he’s going to push to be active as a rookie.

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Andrei Iosivas, Charlie Jones starting to match hype for Bengals

Talented rookies are making their marks for the Bengals.

TheĀ Cincinnati Bengals continue to see noteworthy returns from their pair of rookie wideouts this preseason.

For fourth-rounder Charlie Jones, Friday’s game against the Falcons was a welcome turnaround. He’s decided to play through a torn labrum this year and two of his four catches went for third-down conversions in Atlanta.

“I felt more like myself out there,” Jones said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “I’m just getting adjusted a little bit mentally. Just believe that you belong. After that, you’re just playing football.”

And then there’s Andrei Iosivas, who entered his rookie camp as a “project” who has since seen roughly 20 targets over two preseason games, plus some notable work on special teams.

In fact, those preseason reps, especially at gunner on kick coverages, sure seem to point toward Iosivas leaving “inactive” territory on gameday and outright being active for most games during the regular season.

Add in Jones’ talent as a returner on special teams and it sure feels like the Bengals are trending toward having both rookies active behind the big trio on gameday.

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Now we know why Bengals rookie Andrei Iosivas’ nickname is ‘Yoshi’

Yeah, this explains it.

Cincinnati Bengals rookie wideout Andrei Iosivas goes by the “Yoshi” nickname that has quickly become popular with fans.

But the nickname isn’t strictly some affinity with the Mario franchise.

It turns out nobody can pronounce his last name.

Just look at the recent video posted by the Bengals on social media, which features Orlando Brown Jr. going around the team’s locker room desperately trying to find someone who can pronounce Iosivas’ last name.

Nobody really can, which makes for some entertaining content, but also explains why the nickname has become the default.

And for his part, Yoshi has quickly captured the attention of onlookers as a guy who has great long-term upside if he can keep recent momentum going.

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