Earlier this offseason, you could feel that Joe Burrow was plotting a turnaround for the 2025 season. Fresh off a year where he balled out but still watched the playoffs from the couch, he made one thing clear: he wanted the gang back. “Keeping everybody we had last year is obviously ideal,” he told Fox Sports 1’s Breakfast Ball, basically handing the front office a blueprint. “I think we can do it. I know we all want to stay together and we all want to make it happen.”

And while Trey Hendrickson’s still in contract limbo, Burrow got his core: wideout duo Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The catch? Well, now that camp is buzzing again, it’s not the No. 1 or No. 5 turning heads. It’s someone else. We’re talking about third-year wideout Andrei Iosivas, who’s deep in the grind of training camp and now, with Day 7 underway, ESPN just dropped some fresh intel straight from the Bengals camp.

ESPN reported that the 25-year-old wideout had some very strong reps in a 1-on-1 drill on Wednesday (July 30). But it was a one-handed pass from Burrow that he snagged down the middle of the field, even when cornerback Josh Newton was in tight coverage, that had everyone buzzing. “The contested catches, when he first came here, was not his strong suit,” Burrow said of Iosivas. “He’s turned it into a strength of his game. That’s exciting to see.”

Taken all together, it’s safe to say that it’s precisely why Iosivas was named the Player of the Day on Day 6 of the Camp. And the logic tracks. Earlier this spring, the wideout mentioned that he wanted to put on some weight, about 15 pounds, to play at around 220 and get more yards after the catch. The result? Well, he’s rocking 218 pounds now, and moves like a cat down the field—pads on or off, it doesn’t make a difference.

“Everybody says, ‘Oh, the pads are on,’ but for me, when the pads come on, I like it because I can really go through you and put my helmet in your shoulder and not hurt you,” the wideout said. Entering the third season of his career, Iosivas recorded 479 yards last season, taking his career yards to 595. With the Bengals and Joe Burrow gearing up to make things better this year, the wideout is expected to complement Chase and Higgins come this football season. Meanwhile, you could sense the aggression in Burrow as he’s preparing for the regular season.

Tighter windows, bigger plays: Joe Burrow turns it up

The Bengals kicked off their training camp on July 23, but not in a way Joe Burrow expected. The highlight of the day? The defense outshone Burrow and his offense. Yep, the same mediocre defense from last season. When asked how things went at the beginning of the camp, the quarterback sounded frustrated and had just a one-word response. “Poorly.” And yes, he wasn’t impressed with the way the offense played. But he didn’t shy away from praising the defense.

“I thought they were really sharp today,” he said. “I thought their energy was great. I thought the defensive backs were playing really well, playing their leverages, sticky in coverage. They won the day.” So when the first portion of the camp was done and dusted, Burrow came out swinging on Wednesday (July 30), firing into tight windows like he had something to prove, which he actually did. He was aggressive in challenging his CBs.

Sure, he threw a red zone pick, but that was part of the plan: test the limits. And honestly? It worked. The big plays showed up, the kind that just weren’t there at this point last year. Risky? Absolutely. But it’s the good kind of risky. “I think this is the best I’m throwing it in several years, so I’m excited about that,” Burrow said. “Excited about where our team’s at, too.” Something to be optimistic about? Definitely. Having said that, Burrow had a poor start to the Camp, sure. But one thing that stood out is that he’s feeling great about how he’s throwing this year.