Bengals WR Jermaine Burton headlines 5 rookies making a preseason splash

The highlight of the opening weekend of NFL preseason might have been the debuts of six first-round quarterbacks, but there were plenty of other rookies who impressed in their first glimpses of NFL action.

We'll even skip over all the attention on first-round draft picks and offer up five later-round rookies who made a splash in their preseason games and will merit a closer look as the 2024 season approaches. If nothing else, they might turn out to be great fantasy sleeper picks.

Jermaine Burton , WR, Bengals

Burton, a third-round pick out of Alabama, had the two biggest offensive plays in the Bengals' preseason loss to the Bucs, and that's with Cincinnati opting to play its No. 2 receiver in Tee Higgins. Burton got behind the Tampa Bay defense for a 37-yard touchdown pass from Logan Woodside, and when the Bengals mounted a final comeback in the final minute, Burton caught another long pass for 38 yards before the rally ended. He finished with three catches for 82 yards — the best average in the NFL for any player with more than two receptions this weekend.

Burton has played at a high level in college, first with two years at Georgia and then his last two at Alabama, hauling in a combined 15 touchdown catches in his two years with the Tide. In a deep class of rookie receivers, he'll have a good chance to pop in Cincinnati, where he'll slide in as their No. 3 with Tyler Boyd moving on to Tennessee. With Higgins playing out this season on the franchise tag but likely to sign elsewhere, it could be an easy promotion next year for Burton to become the No. 2 opposite Ja'Marr Chase as Joe Burrow's top targets in Cincinnati. And with Chase skipping practices at training camp due to a contract dispute, Burton may get his