After making eight picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals have added the necessary players they feel can push this team to its first Super Bowl title. The best pick by the team, at least according to Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports, is sixth-rounder Andrei Iosivas.
This selection was a bit of a surprise considering that the Bengals had already drafted a wide receiver two rounds before with Charlie Jones joining the team. Cincinnati does have two of their starting receivers set to hit free agency after the 2023 season, however, so it's not totally crazy that they opted to spend two draft picks on the position.
Iosivas played at Princeton, which isn't known for its abilities to produce high-end NFL talent. That being said, Iosivas is most certainly an intriguing pick by the franchise.
"Iosivas gets the project label because played at Princeton and isn't polished receiver well-versed in 15 different routes. What I also know about him -- he's big and very fast, and there's always a role for those wideouts in the NFL today. Heck, Christian Watson wasn't much different stylistically than Iosivas and the Packers traded up in the second round to select him in 2022. Iosivas tracks it beautifully down the field and, if utilized correctly, he can be a fun, sizable gadget type early in his career for the Bengals. "Chris Trapasso
Bengals praised for their sixth-round selection of Andrei Iosivas
Something that caught Bengals fans' eyes about Iosivas is that he received nearly a perfect RAS score. The only knock on him was his weight. He can fix that pretty easily, however, and fit whatever need the Bengals have.
The wide receiver situation in 2023 isn't hard to predict, at least not from a starting standpoint. It'll be Boyd, Chase, and Higgins as the starters.
The depth, however, should be a fun ride this summer. We have Iosivas, Jones, Trenton Irwin, Trent Taylor, Stanley Morgan Jr., and Kwamie Lassiter competing for the rest of the receiver spots on the roster. Iosivas might only be a sixth-round pick but by the end of the year, he could end up becoming a special player for this team.