Tag: Andrei Iosivas

Bengals rookie WR Andrei Iosivas made his case for final roster in preseason debut

Andrei Iosivas showed he belonged on the 53 for the Bengals.

Cincinnati Bengals rookie Andrei Iosivas sure looked like a guy about to make a final roster during his first NFL game on Friday night.

During the preseason Week 1 loss to Green Bay, Iosivas had 10 targets in the base offense, plus worked as a gunner on punt returns and coverage on kickoffs.

He even told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com after the game that he’s already reviewing how he could have done better on special teams.

“By my last gunner rep, both my legs were cramping, but that’s part of the preseason life,” Iosivas said. “You’re so anxious to make plays that you’re rushing things. I’ve got to learn to let things develop … I could have got better position on one kick. On those I have to learn to have them come to me a little bit.”

Special teams is where a rookie receiver on a depth chart as talented as the one in Cincinnati is where he can really make a mark.

But those 10 targets? That sure said a lot about how the guys actually running the offense from under center feel about his talent.

“Yes, I think you saw that certainly when he had one-on-one opportunities, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told reporters. “They found a way to target him, and that is a good sign of their faith in a receiver.”

A possible fringe 53 player before the game, Iosivas seemed to cement his status as one of the six or seven wideouts they keep. He’ll need to keep the arrow pointing up on special teams, but it’s pretty clear in the base offense that he’s not just a former track standout and project player.

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Bengals rookie WR Andrei Iosivas gets hyped on national television

The Andrei Iosivas hive is getting fired up.

It would appear the greater NFL world is catching on to the hype of Cincinnati Bengals rookie wideout Andrei Iosivas.

Iosivas, a sixth-round pick by the Bengals this year, got his own segment on “Good Morning Football” with Peter Schrager and Co. this week.

“It’s not every year that a track athlete out of Princeton is turning everyone’s heads in an NFL training camp,” the show proclaimed. “Bengals rookie WR Andrei Iosivas has done just that.”

Truthfully, Iosivas was always destined to be one of those training camp breakouts. He’s 6’3″ and 200 pounds with an elite background in other sports and put that resume to work on the field at Princeton, where he sits sixth all-time in receiving yards (1,909) and third in touchdown catches (16).

Iosivas still has an uphill climb to making the final 53, especially when he and fourth-rounder Charlie Jones were luxury additions to a stacked depth chart. But if he can secure some consistency, the rest should come easy enough.

The clip:

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Bengals 2023 player profile for WR Andrei Iosivas

A 2023 profile for Bengals WR Andrei Iosivas.

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The Cincinnati Bengals made a few notable additions at wide receiver this offseason that should make some of those depth battles interesting.

Rookie Andrei Iosivas is one of those, so here’s a look at his profile as we continue the season countdown.

 

Experience: Rookie (Round 6, 2023)

Age: 23

College:  Princeton

2021 PFF Grade: n/a

Numbers to Know: Sixth all-time in receiving yards (1,909), 12th in receptions (125) and third in touchdown catches (16) at Princeton.

Resume and Outlook: Iosivas (6’3″ and 200 pounds) is a former track standout who put up big numbers in college and could find himself on the final roster if he can prove reliable on special teams. He has huge, huge upside over the long-term, though he’s got serious competition from fellow rookie Charlie Jones, let alone the veterans already on the roster.

 

Other 2023 Bengals player profiles: 

Position Name
OL Jaxson Kirkland
DE Tarell Basham
RB Chris Evans
DE Jeff Gunter
P Brad Robbins
LB Jaylen Moody
TE Drew Sample
QB Trevor Siemian
DE Cam Sample
CB DJ Ivey
WR Stanley Morgan
OL Jackson Carman
P Drue Chrisman
WR Trent Taylor
S Tycen Anderson
DT Josh Tupou

 

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Bengals rookie Andrei Iosivas studying with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins

Bengals rookie Andrei Iosivas is making the most of his situation.

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Cincinnati Bengals fans were understandably hyped about the edition of Princeton wideout Andrei Iosivas in the mid-rounds of the draft given some of his stunning measurables and high upside. 

Iosivas has done nothing but impress folks in the building since arriving, either, paying special attention especially to what Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins tell him as they work together. 

“I really take the advice of Ja’Marr and Tee very seriously and critique myself very hard,” Iosivas said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “Every time I’m watching film, I see what Tee tells me and try to replicate it the next day or that practice.”

Given his frame and game, coaches have told Iosivas to model his game more off Higgins’ than Chase, but he’s still got plenty of nice things to say about No. 1: “He’s really nice. They’ve both taken me under their wing.”

Like fellow rookie wideout Charlie Jones, Iosivas will have to make his mark in more ways than one to make the final roster. But the early reviews from rookie camp and workouts suggest he’s doing all the right things that will enable him to make the roster, if not have a quick impact. 

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Bengals wide receivers ranked best in NFL

Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd — plus two exciting rookies — help earn the Bengals the No. 1 spot.

The Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers are talked about in conversations about which team has the best in the league.

Mike Clay of ESPN ranked the receiver units around the league and the Bengals got the number one spot with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Trenton Irwin, along with draft picks Charlie Jones and Andre Iosivas.

Jones out of Purdue is 5’11” and 175 pounds and had 110 catches for 1,361 yards and 12 touchdowns in his last season with the Boilermakers.

Iosivas, one of the Bengals sixth-round picks, is 6’0”, 200 pounds and caught 66 passes for 943 yards and seven touchdowns in his last season with Princeton.

These two only add on to what was already one of the best receiving units with the Bengals.

Cincinnati now has some decent depth to go along with some of the best talent in the NFL, and a possible replacement for Tyler Boyd, if he doesn’t stick around, since he’s in the last season of his contract.

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Maybe we should have seen Bengals taking Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas coming

In hindsight, the Bengals used the pre-draft process to really hone in on Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas.

The Cincinnati Bengals surprised some onlookers by taking not one, but two wide receivers in the 2023 NFL draft.

But the Bengals sort of telegraphed the moves during the pre-draft process based on how they spent time with fourth-rounder Charlie Jones and sixth-rounder Andrei Iosivas.

Just look at what they did with Jones. Both wideouts coach Troy Walters and special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons attended Purdue’s pro day.

Simmons, specifically, yanked the entire process outside to see if Brown could be the possible returner of the future for the Bengals in the cold AFC North.

“Darrin brought the 40-50 scouts who were freezing cold outside and Charlie Jones, who was freezing cold, outside to see if he could return punts in the cold and wind,” Bengals scout Christian Sarkisian told Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “It was great.”

And Iosivas, perhaps best described as a lottery ticket of a late-round pick due to his stunning athleticism and measurables? The Bengals were the only team in the NFL to bring him in for a visit.

Given what we know, plus the above, it’s almost easy to see both rookie receivers making the final roster. Jones will have to outperform veteran returners and show he can be a long-term asset in the base offense, but it’s very doable based on his upside. Iosivas is rawer and a longer shot, but the multi-sport effort and dedication he’s shown, in the Ivy League, no less, is a big part of what had the Bengals interested in the first place — so never say never.

If anything, it’s another lesson that outsiders need to pay close attention to how the Bengals move during the pre-draft process.

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Best reactions after Bengals draft Andrei Iosivas in sixth round

The best reactions after the Bengals made their first pick in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals doubled up on the wideout position in the 2023 NFL draft by taking Princeton’s Andrei Iosivas in the sixth round.

A superb pick in that spot given Iosivas’s stunning testing numbers, the Ivy League standout had a strong final season in college before the wow-worthy testing that put him on the radar of teams like the Bengals.

Iosivas is the latest sign Bengals coaches wanted to make sure that if they need to call upon depth behind their star wideouts, they have quick-twitch athletes who can create separation from defenders long before the pass-rusher can get to Joe Burrow.

Here’s a look at reactions to the pick.

Instant analysis of Bengals picking Andrei Iosivas in the sixth round

Instant analysis after the Bengals add to the roster for the first time in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals are stockpiling weapons at the wide receiver position in the 2023 NFL draft, using a sixth-round pick on Andrei Iosivas out of Princeton.

While fans might not know the Ivy League standout Iosivas, just know he’s another downright elite athletic tester and yet another sign coaches are tired of their non-premium guys being unable to get separation.

Last season, Iosivas (6’3″ and 200 pounds) had 943 yards and seven touchdowns on 66 catches. He was also part of the track squad in college, making him yet another multi-sport draft pick for the Bengals as they just load up on the super-athletic types.

His testing numbers were stunning:

It’s not all perfect, of course, as noted by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:

Iosivas’ size, speed and athletic ability might not overwhelm NFL opponents, but those traits do give him a very real chance of battling for an NFL roster spot. He needs to work on his catch technique and level up his aggression when competing for catch space, but his ability to become a three-level route runner should work in his favor.

But in the back end of the draft? Rolling the dice on a wideout with eye-popping athletic numbers isn’t a bad way to go. When starting wideouts have gone down in the past, Bengals backups have had hard times getting separation — Iosivas and fourth-rounder Charlie Jones aren’t going to have those problems.

That makes it a win of a pick, especially because the Bengals can still grab something like punter with their second pick in the sixth round.

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Bengals select Princeton WR Andrei Iosivas in sixth round

The Bengals have made their first pick in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals used their first of two picks in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft on Princeton wideout Andrei Iosivas.

Iosivas, 6’3″ and 200 pounds, caught 66 passes for 943 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He had a wicked athletic testing profile and projects as an all-around receiver who can make the final roster in training camp.

The Bengals started Day 3 over the team’s first two picks addressing the offensive side of the ball with Purdue wideout Charlie Jones and Illinois running back Chase Brown.

Iosivas makes it three in a row, with the team double-dipping on wideout depth in unsurprising fashion after some of the issues over the last few years when starters got hurt.

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2023 NFL draft: Alex’s final 7-round projections for Chargers

Find out how Chargers Wire’s Alex Katson thinks the 2023 NFL draft will play out for Los Angeles.

We are just one day away from the beginning of the 2023 NFL draft, an event bound to unite Chargers fans everywhere in their optimism about the future of the team.

(Okay, maybe not. But it will at least shift the talking points to something else.)

With 24 hours to go, here’s my crack at what the Chargers could do over the next three days. Keep in mind that while this is a predictive mock, it’s naturally influenced by a number of biases – familiarity with certain players, the big board on the mock draft simulator I use, things I would like to see the team do even if they bend tendencies a bit, etc. Now that we have that disclaimer out of the way, you’re not allowed to yell at me. Let’s get into it.