Conventional wisdom says the Cincinnati Bengals will lose Tee Higgins to free agency next offseason.
But for the most part, that same logical line of thinking has suggested that one of Andrei Iosivas or even Jermaine Burton could step into the No. 2 role across from Ja’Marr Chase.
Not all agree, though.
Gordon McGuinness of Pro Football Focus, for example, just issued a new 2025 NFL mock draft that has the Bengals going with Luther Burden III out of Missouri at No. 10 overall:
Burden has been impressive this season, averaging 2.41 yards per route run. He was even better in 2023, earning an elite 91.0 PFF receiving grade while averaging 3.29 yards per route run.
Given some of the needs across the entire defense, the Bengals going with a first-round wideout would be something of a surprise.
But then again, Iosivas has largely been a disappointment this season and Burton has had all sorts of issues dodging the problems that gave him red flags during last year’s draft.
As of this writing, the 5’11” Burden has 21 touchdowns over his last three seasons and averages nearly 12 yards per catch, so he’d be a nice possible fit in the same offense as Chase.
