4 Bengals UDFAs who can make a difference in 2022

Kwamie Lassiter II

Speaking of the aforementioned Kwamie Lassiter II, he has a chance to make an impact sooner rather than later. The former Kansas receiver has been receiving praise throughout Bengals nation for a whole now and rightfully so.

It should come as no surprise though. Like Pryor, Lassiter II plays with confidence, has strong hands, and is an excellent down-the-field blocker. Also, like Pryor, he spent the majority of his time on the outside.

What he has over Pryor and some other receivers he will be competing against is his experience with returning punts. He averaged 13.5 yards per return in his final season with the Jayhawks. That will immediately make him an option for the final roster.

At the time, no one imagined that T.J. Houshmandzadeh would be one of the best Bengals receivers in history. After all, he was sitting behind established starter Darnay Scott, former first-pick Peter Warrick, and fellow 2001 rookie and second-round pick Chad Johnson.

Lassiter II can make an impact similar to Houshmandzadeh. That is to say, he can go from late round/undrafted to making the team primarily as a special teamer and eventually work his way up the depth chart to become a more significant part of the offense.

That does not mean that he is going to be Houshmandzadeh. However, we have seen a late-round receiver with similar skill sets have a trajectory comparable to the path Lassiter II is looking to take and he is already impressing.