ESPN names one nonstarter to know for the Cincinnati Bengals

When it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals wide receier corps, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins dominate the majority of the headlines, and deservedly so. Chase and Higgins are two of the best receivers in the entire NFL, and they've been a big part of Cincinnati's success on the offensive end in recent years.

Chase has gone over 1,000 yards and made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons, and Higgins has been an excellent complementary receiver Rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton has already received a good amount of hype since the team selected him in the third round of the draft in April.

With those guys garnering most of the attention, the rest of the receivers in Cincinnati are flying under the radar a bit, including sixth-year pass-catcher Trenton Irwin, who is coming off of the most productive season of his career in 2023. Last season, Irwin started in five games for the Bengals and tallied a total of 25 receptions, 316 yards and a touchdown.

Keep an eye on Irwin

The third starting wide receiver spot alongside Chase and Higgins needs to be filled, and Irwin could potentially be the guy to fill it. Even if not, he should see some solid snaps in 2024, and ESPN recently named him a nonstarter to know for the Bengals. Here's what they said:

"It's hard to tell who's going to be the third receiver behind Chase and Higgins, but Irwin actually scored higher than Higgins in ESPN's receiver tracking metrics last season and had a receiving DVOA of 20.8%, which ranked 10th among receivers with 10-49 pass targets."

It remains to be seen just how big of a role Irwin will have with the Bengals in 2024, as he'll have to compete with Burton, Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas for playing time. But, he should have ample opportunity to build on his productive play from last season, and he's definitely a player to keep an eye on as a result.