5 underrated Bengals who could have a significant impact this season
- Cam Sample needs to be a reliable pass-rusher
- DJ Turner is already looking like a steal
- Can Chase Brown work his way up the depth chart?
- Tycen Anderson basically guaranteed himself a roster spot
- Andrei Iosivas could be the steal of the draft
2. Tycen Anderson
Tycen Anderson went from someone slipping down the depth chart, to a potential threat to compete for some serious playing time after his Week 1 preseason performance. Not only did he return an interception for a touchdown, he also had a second interception in the same half.
Anderson spent most of his rookie season injured last year, but with so much roster turnover at safety paired with his prolific performance last Friday, don't count out the Toledo product to make some noise this year.
Currently, Daxton Hill and Nick Scott are the expected Week 1 starting tandem. However, rookie Jordan Battle, Anderson, and veteran Michael Thomas will all play instrumental roles. It will have to be a team effort with how young the position got after losing Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell, two of the best safeties in football last season.
1. Andrei Iosivas
The best wide receiver in the Ivy League last season, and the first from the conference to be drafted by the Bengals in over a century, Andrei Iosivas, has been one of the most impressive names to exploit his size and skills throughout training camp, and the first preseason game for the Bengals.
Iosivas uses his size to his advantage, and since last season at Princeton, his ball skills have improved dramatically. He was the Bengals' leading receiver against the Packers with four receptions for 50 yards and almost made the catch of the game in the end zone but was just inches out of bounds with one of his two feet.
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He won't surpass Chase, Higgins, or Boyd on the depth chart, and nobody is expecting him to. For a sixth-round pick, however, he has been a pleasant surprise and may very well share reps with Trenton Irwin and Charlie Jones as the WR4/5 on the depth chart if he can maintain his production and make the roster. Cincinnati utilizes that role, as we saw last year with Irwin, who became a vital piece of the offense.