NATIONAL REACTION: WR with 80th overall and 16th pick signed by Bengals

Bengal Jermaine Burton will play. Burton was selected by Cincinnati with the 80th overall and 16th pick in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Burton was the first player selected for Alabama’s skill position. Earlier in the evening, two of his old colleagues, Chris Braswell (57th to Tampa Bay) and Kool-Aid McKinstry (41st overall to New Orleans), went. Burton was the Tide’s top receiving option when he transferred to UA prior to the 2022 campaign. He now becomes a target for Joe Burrow’s attack.

“I really, really like this guy. The No. 1 thing he needs to do, and I think emotional maturity is the best way to say it, is do the right things all the time. He does the right things on the field. He knows the importance of what he has to do on the field. He wants to be a player that’s all he thinks about,” his former coach Nick Saban said on ESPN’s live broadcast analysis.

In his two seasons with Georgia, he scored eight touchdowns, one of which being a 57-yard touchdown against Michigan in the Rose Bowl in 2021. Burton caught 79 passes for 1,475 yards and 15 touchdowns in 26 games while playing at UA. He was a consistent deep ball threat and ended his career with two Southeastern Conference titles.

Jermaine Burton 2024 Prospect Profile | Reception Perception

Against Texas A&M in October of last year, Burton demonstrated his big-play talent to the fullest, averaging over 20 yards per touch. As Jalen Milroe progressed, he burst for 197 yards and two touchdowns. Following a stellar performance at the combine, Burton was chosen as the 12th pass-catcher.

In 2022, Burton was part of a controversy when he and a fan scuffled during a field storming in Knoxville. (He was never punished by the team or the conference.) Burton is the first UA wide receiver to be selected since Jameson Williams and John Metchie went in the first- and second-rounds, respectively, in the 2022 draft.

Last month, Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins requested a trade, per ESPN. Needing a dynamic downfield threat, Cincinnati opted for another SEC standout.