The 2023 sixth-round draft pick was targeted 10 times inside the 10-yard line last year and caught seven of them — six went for touchdowns. All four of his touchdowns as a rookie also came on passes from inside the 10-yard line, and he did not catch just one other target inside the redzone.
Now he wants to work on being able to make some “long house calls,” as he put it.
“Even last year, I felt like I was good enough to get the ball in other places but that just wasn’t the name of the game for me, so I just stayed patient and got the ball when I could, and in the endzone it happened more than other times,” Iosivas said after a minicamp practice last week. “But this year, I think I can really turn it on in open field and get some good long-house calls, let’s just say that.”
Iosivas came to Cincinnati in 2023 as someone outsiders considered more of a project, coming out of the Ivy League with Princeton, but the Bengals knew exactly what they were getting from a talented track and field athlete and wide receiver.
The 6-foot-3 native of Hawaii just had to prove he could do it against top competition. He finished the 2023 season with 15 catches for 116 yards and four touchdowns. Those numbers improved in Year 2 with 36 receptions for 479 yards and six touchdowns.
Iosivas said he was able to take advantage of one-one-ones in the redzone while Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins were double-teamed. Quarterback Joe Burrow gave him a little more credit for the work he put in to make those catches.
“I think No. 1, in the red zone, it’s a lot of off schedule plays, and that’s where Andrei excels,” Burrow said. “He never gets tired. He’s in great shape, that comes from his track background. And then, he knows that we’re going to run plays to throw the ball to Ja’Marr and Tee and the off-schedule plays are going to be his opportunity to go and make big-time plays for us. And he takes full advantage of that, and really understands how to get open in those situations, what I’m looking at, what I’m expecting.
“He’s always trying to create more dialog between us and talking about routes and what I’m looking at. So, you know, he takes ownership of those things, and that’s why you see him continue to get better,” he said.
The Bengals gave Iosivas more chances in 2024 in part out of need following the departure of Tyler Boyd. He took advantage of more first-team reps last offseason while both Chase and Higgins were not participating while trying to obtain long-term contracts that finally got done this March, but Iosivas knew there would be opportunities in the slot if he studied that role, which became his focus.
Iosivas played in all 17 games and made eight starts last year and he goes into Year 3 as the top choice as the team’s third receiver, where 2024 third-round pick Jermaine Burton failed to take advantage of the opening as a rookie. The Bengals expect even more from him after a standout offseason this year.
“Just being comfortable, understanding the game more so you don’t have to think as much and just working so hard that you can turn your brain off and play through it,” Iosivas said when asked what the biggest difference for him is this year.
Teammates and coaches praised Iosivas for the progress he has made in such a short time with the Bengals, despite what might have been expected for someone at his draft spot. Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher sees him as an even more confident player in 2025.
“I just think you’re seeing he’s the perfect example of a guy that you take late in the draft because of his physical gifts,” Pitcher said. “He’s got tremendous intelligence. So, you’ve got a smart guy with physical gifts, coming from a small school, entering the big pond, right? And having to figure out what that means and the physicality that comes with that. And the consistency that we need out of him to be the passing attack that we want to be.
“So he makes a jump from Year 1 to 2. Now from (Year) 2 to 3, you see the confidence. You see the chest out. You see just how he carries himself like he believes that he’s like those other two guys. And he’s making steps to get there,” he said.
“In a lot of other buildings, he would have the opportunity that Tee Higgins has. So when you don’t have that same volume, he knows that when the ball does come his way, he’s got to take advantage of it. I just think you’ve seen the confidence grow. Super proud of his progression and I think you’re only going to see him continue to get better.”
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