The Bengals are moving toward their first preseason game, and the early camp buzz is starting to sharpen around a few young players. On this day, the defense continued to give Joe Burrow and the offense real work, while some of the younger names on the roster made their presence felt.
The clearest battle heating up is at WR3, where Colbie Young is pressing his case as Andrei Iosivas works through a rough stretch. Since Tyler Boyd left, Cincinnati has been looking for a reliable third option behind Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Iosivas seemed like the natural fit, but drops and trouble separating from the lesser coverage he sees with those two stars ahead of him have complicated that picture.
Young, a fourth-round pick, has stepped into that opening with the kind of competition the Bengals clearly want at the spot. Two years after the Jermaine Burton experiment went sideways, Cincinnati appears intent on keeping the room honest.
Young has the athletic profile and the hands to punish single coverage, and over the past few days he has also shown he can make plays over the middle. With Iosivas in a contract year, this is one of the more interesting position fights to watch.
There was also a strong showing from rookie pass rusher Cashius Howell, who impressed against the first team. Coming into camp, Howell was viewed as a rotational edge player, and the one trait everyone seemed to agree on before the draft was the depth of his pass-rush toolbox. A lot of that was expected to show up as finesse, but Howell showed something different when he drove Orlando Brown Jr. - one of the biggest offensive linemen in the NFL - with pure power.
That opportunity may only grow, too, with Howell’s former Texas A&M teammate set to miss a few weeks. Those are the kinds of reps that can matter a lot in camp.
There were a few other notes worth keeping an eye on as well, including Tacorio Davis mixing it up with Young and Ja’Marr Chase getting a day off.
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Landon Robinson Is Giving Bengals Fans A Reason To Watch Camp Closely
The Bengals used a late draft pick on Navy defensive tackle Landon Robinson, but he has quickly become one of the more intriguing names to surface during offseason work. His arrival brought a different kind of profile to Cincinnatis defensive line room, blending the kind of discipline and toughness associated with the Naval Academy with the athletic traits that helped make him a seventh-round selection.
Robinson has already turned enough heads that he is being viewed as a candidate for a rotational role up front, which gives camp a little extra edge for Bengals fans tracking the defensive line battle. The early buzz has also invited some familiar comparisons to a former Cincinnati standout, adding to the sense that this rookie could be more than a quiet depth addition if he keeps building on the attention he has earned. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Just Got A Fresh Reminder How Smart Their WR Deals Look
The Bengals got another timely reminder in March why locking up Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins was such a smart piece of business. Cincinnati secured both wideouts on long-term contracts, keeping the core of its passing game intact and avoiding the kind of escalating market pressure that always follows a big-name receiver deal elsewhere in the AFC.
Baltimore only added to that sense with its new four-year, $140 million commitment to Zay Flowers, a price tag that pushes the market higher and makes Cincinnati's numbers look even more manageable by comparison. For the Bengals, the bigger value may not be in any one contract headline, but in the way those two deals now sit against a receiver market that keeps getting louder and more expensive. [Read more 🡒]