NFL trainer says pair of Bengals second-year players improved faster than any he's ever trained before

Should wide receiver Andrei Iosivas and running back Chase Brown make significant improvements this season, the Cincinnati Bengals would become an even better team than they are now.

Cincinnati added each player last year on the third day of the 2023 NFL Draft. Day 3 draft picks haven't exactly been the Bengals' forte in recent years, but finding quality players with those late picks add so much in terms of value.

It appears both players are on track to being even better in 2024 thanks to their work earlier in the offseason.

Andrei Iosivas, Chase Brown exceed expectations in training

In an effort to become better and more well-rounded pass-catchers, Iosivas and Brown trained together this offseason with renowned receiver coach Drew Lieberman.

The Atlanta-based trainer has trained notable NFL players such as Brandon Aiyuk, Evan Engram, and other names who've gotten better as a result of working with him.

Lieberman didn't hold back to The Athletic 's Paul Dehner Jr. about how much both of his newest clients impressed him in such short time working with them.

“I would say Andrei and Chase made the fastest improvement of any players I’ve ever had in the program of 15 years doing this, this is year seven at the NFL level,” Lieberman said to Dehner.

“I’ve never had two players improve faster.”

That's exactly what everyone in Cincinnati wants to hear. The results were already starting to show during OTAs and minicamp .

Iosivas, who reached out to Lieberman first and invited Brown to join him, already proved to be ahead of the curve last year when he reeled in four touchdowns in limited action. Cincinnati's offense had to rely on him more than expected due to Tee Higgins' injury issues, and he validated their trust.

But he was far from a finished product. Now it sounds like he's much closer as he prepares for even more targets from quarterback Joe Burrow in his second year.

“(Lieberman) just taught me how to be a better receiver,” Iosivas told Dehner, “and that’s what I needed.”

Catching passes isn't as critical for Brown as it is for Iosivas, but it's still a big part of what his game needs to be for the Bengals. With Joe Mixon no longer in town, he'll be counted on far more often, especially in the passing game as his new partner Zack Moss will be taking the majority of handoffs. It was his leap in training that really got to a once skeptical Lieberman.

"Chase looked like a running back when I started with him," Lieberman told Dehner, "like an uncoordinated route runner. Now this guy looks like a starting slot receiver in the NFL.”

Star wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins undoubtedly remain the focus of Cincinnati's passing offense, but the more reliable auxiliary weapons like Iosivas and Brown become, the harder it will be to defend the entire unit. A quarterback as good as Burrow consistently capitalize on defenses failing to give enough attention to one part of the field.

At this rate, there's set to be mismatches all over the field. The Bengals can thank Iosivas and Brown's hunger to get better for that.

Related: 3 Bengals not named Joe Burrow who can single-handedly make the team better in 2024