The Cincinnati Bengals drafted wide receiver Jermaine Burton in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft for many reasons.
One of those was for the way he can bridge the gap for the offense as the wideout room around him changes.
Burton’s ability to play multiple spots and provide different things for the offense is part of the reason he’s listed as one of the seven picks landing in an ideal scheme fit by Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine:
Burton has a great chance to become the kind of receiver that Burrow loves to throw the ball to. He has the route-running to play in the slot and take over Tyler Boyd’s role in Year 1 with the deep threat potential to be in Higgins’ role in Year 2.
No doubt the Bengals liked Burton’s scheme fit and clearly viewed him as a steal in Round 3.
And Burton could very well end up as the primary slot receiver (perhaps splitting those reps with tight end Mike Gesicki depending on alignment) as a rookie.
If — and it remains a big if regardless of the outlook now — the Bengals lose Tee Higgins after 2024, Burton could indeed slip to the boundary.
Given the way the Bengals like to move Ja’Marr Chase to the slot to create mismatches anyway, Burton could see plenty of reps in both spots as a rookie, too.
