On Friday, Tee Higgins was listed as doubtful with a hamstring. Meanwhile, despite being a full participant in Friday’s walk-through, Ja’Marr Chase is still a game-time decision.
This has countless of fantasy fans asking: who is Andrei Iosivas?
Iosivas was already one of my Top 10 Preseason Fantasy Football Sleepers set to explode. This was before Higgins’ hamstring flare-up and Chase’s holdout.
Now, as the potential top option for Joe Burrow in Week 1, Iosivas may realize his fantasy ceiling far faster than most expect. He’s still only 8% rostered on Yahoo, but I expect that number to flip BIG TIME after Week 1.
Just how solid is Andrei Iosivas’ Fantasy Outlook for Week 1? Can you trust the Bengals’ explosive sophomore WR in your fantasy lineup?
Let’s dive in.
Who is Andrei Iosivas? A Freak Athlete
The 206th draft pick in the 2023 draft, Andrei Iosivas entered the league out of Princeton University. While “Ivy League” and “Football Stars” don’t typically go hand-in-hand, Iosivas has a far more intriguing profile than his small-school status may suggest.
Let’s just start with Iosivias’ athletic measurables. Check out his Relative Athletic Score (RAS):
At the time, Iosivas’ near-perfect score ranked 14th out of 3048 WRs from 1987 to 2023! 6’3″, 205 lbs with a 4.43 forty, incredible leaping ability, and high-end agility? Sounds like Iosivas was built in a lab to play WR! In fact, in RotoViz’s range-of-outcomes tool, his measurables stack up favorably to Rome Odunze!
Yet, Iosivas’ absurd physical gifts should be unsurprising. He was also an All-American Heptathlon track and field star at Princeton. In fact, Iosivas barely played football until his final two years at Princeton, but once he developed, he thrived.
Yoshi ultimately finished with the third most career touchdowns, sixth most receiving yards, and 12th most receptions in school history while tallying nearly 40% targets-per-route-run. He led Princeton in TD catches in back-to-back seasons, including a senior year where he paced the Ivy League in receptions (66), yards (943), and TDs (7).
I know—this is Princeton. Still, it’s nice to see production supporting the athletic profile, especially from someone who hadn’t played football as his primary sport.
It’s not like he has done nothing at the NFL level, either. During his rookie season, despite barely sniffing the field, Yoshi did have a Red Zone role and ultimately caught a TD from Joe Burrow in back-to-back weeks, scoring 2 TDs on just 7 total routes and converting both of his only targets into scores.
Down the stretch with Higgins banged up, Iosivas actually tied Ja’Marr Chase in targets per route and even averaged more yards per route run. Granted, neither WR was very impressive in those metrics, considering Jake Browning was their QB. Nonetheless, the ability to command targets was great.
Moreover, in the only game, he ran above 70% of the routes, Iosivas posted 20.6 PPR FPs, turning seven targets into five receptions, 36 yards, and 2 TDs.
At minimum, Iosivas showed the ability to be an effective Red Zone weapon that can command targets when given the chance. Yet, the preseason hype suggests Iosivas could be in for a far greater role, too.
Andrei Iosivas Preseason Hype: Constant Drumbeat
Throughout the summer, Iosivas was among the most highly-praised Bengals players. Almost daily, a beat report came out gushing on Yoshi, who dominated Jermaine Burton in the battle for Tyler Boyd‘s vacated slot role:
Iosivas took the vast majority of slot reps throughout training camp practices. He played every starter-snap in Preseason Week 1, and hauled in an impressive chain-moving, 23-yard catch on a crucial third-down. He was then rested alongside Burrow and the other starters the rest of the way and will have an opportunity to eat plenty of the 259 vacated targets in Cincinnati.
Burrow is certainly hyped up about his WR:
“Andrei’s going to have a big year,” Joe Burrow told reporters. “I’m really excited about how he’s coming along. Wherever he ends up playing, whether it’s outside or inside, he’s able to do it all.”
Meanwhile, earlier this offseason, The Athletic’s Paul Dehner recently labeled Iosivas as Cincinnati’s “offensive star of camp.” Dehner recently doubled down, saying, “the time to buy Andrei Iosivas stock is now,” while adding:
“He might be the most interesting new piece of the Bengals’ offensive puzzle… From the moment the Bengals tried him out in the slot on the first day of training camp, he delivered in a way that solidified him as WR3 behind Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
He’s thrived, regularly beating nickelback Mike Hilton in practices…He’s listed at 6-3, 205, but his 4.43 speed creates a unique profile as an inside-outside weapon the Bengals have had running with the starting group, primarily in the slot, throughout the offseason and training camp. His transition came with an Ivy League approach. He’s been making requests of the video staff. He requested cut-ups of Keenan Allen (6-2, 211) and Larry Fitzgerald (6-3, 218) as he sought to replicate some of the best big-body slots in the history of the game.”
Modeling his game after Keenan and Larry Fitz? Certainly, two slot monsters worth replicating!
Lastly, Yoshi reportedly worked out with WRs coach Drew Lieberman all offseason. Lieberman has worked with Brandon Aiyuk, Evan Engram, Jakobi Meyers, and Dontayvion Wicks. Yet the coach said Iosivas (& Chase Brown) “made the fastest improvement of any players [he’s] ever had.”
Andrei Iosivas Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 1
Clearly, Iosivas’ drum beat has been banging since July. Yet most (not us) were deaf to it, considering he sits at just 8% rostered. Now, with a massive Week 1 opportunity ahead of Iosivas, fantasy managers will be forced to pay attention.
Iosivas is almost guaranteed to play a full-time role with Joe Burrow on Sunday. That was already the case, but it’s especially true with Tee Higgins doubtful. Considering Yoshi crested 20 FPs in his only game with 70%+ routes last season, with Browning at QB, I’m incredibly excited to see what he does.
Given it’s Week 1, you likely have more solid depth so you don’t have to roll out Andre Iosivas quite yet. Yet, in deeper leagues, I am absolutely OK with streaming him against the Patriots. As a Pats fan myself, this defense has taken some key hits and is not the Patriots of old you should fear. Burrow should have no trouble carving up this secondary, especially with our pass-rush promising to be among the worst in the game.
Even if you don’t need to roll him out, though, Iosivas should be 100% rostered ahead of the game to see how he steps up. I expect him to thrive from Week 1, regardless of who’s in or out of the lineup. Yoshi is also an incredible DFS Punt at $3000 — he will likely be high-owned, but it’s going to be tough chalk to fade.
Last year, I rostered Tank Dell in all my leagues ahead of his breakout. This year, I’m staking my claim into Iosivas to be that crucial breakout WR for 2024 Fantasy Football. Get in now before it’s too late!
Keep tabs on my Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings to see where Iosivas lands on Sunday before lineups lock.
Andrei Iosivas Week 1 Projection: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 88 yards, 1 TD
