Cincinnati Bengals Draft Replacement for All-Pro Receiver Ja’Marr Chase During Huge 2024 NFL Draft

While the organization performed fairly well in the first two rounds by knocking two positional needs off their board by players that were close to the best in this year’s class, there is some major skepticism about the rest of the draft.  Specifically, ESPN draft specialist Mel Kiper Jr. certainly wasn’t particularly impressed with the way that the franchise was appraising talent.  That was apparent when it came to his appraisals of defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson and wide receiver Jermaine Burton.

“I graded Jackson as more of a fifth-rounder, though.” Kiper said in an article published by ESPN . “Cincinnati reached for wideout Jermaine Burton (80) over guys I had graded higher including  Jalen McMillan, Roman Wilson and Troy Franklin, and Burton also has some off-field concerns. He’s a talented player and deep threat for Joe Burrow, but he’s no guarantee to be a future Tee Higgins replacement.”

While both players appear capable of filling positional needs, there are major questions about whether or not they can make a smooth transition to the difficulty at the NFL level.  Burton failed to post a 1,000-yard season over the course of his NFL career, and he was the number one receiver on one of the best teams in the country last season at the University of Alabama.  While a third-round selection isn’t a guaranteed starter, you certainly want at least an immediate backup-level player out of that pick.

Given the organization’s obvious draft theme of filling holes that will be generated next season after the departure of their many free-agent signings to one-year contracts, Burton appears to fill that need. Since the organization provided insurance last season for the departure of Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd by drafting Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas, Burton likely fills that mold for superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.

Since Burton fills a similar role as Chase with his deep threat ability and pure speed, he was drafted to provide insurance for Chase.  Chase recently had his contract extended to 2025 but given the price trend that wide receiver contracts have gone, Cincinnati needs an alternative if Chase demands an impossible sum during his upcoming contract negotiations.  While this team likely won’t be moving on from Chase, they needed a similar type of player to keep continuity and provide bargaining leverage during negotiations.