Cincinnati Bengals to Workout Intriguing Prospect in Stunning Late Offseason Move

The Cincinnati Bengals are planning a workout with wide receiver prospect Hakeem Butler, who most recently played for the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks.

Butler is not a typical wide receiver prospect as he might be considered a veteran had he stayed in the NFL since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals.

Hakeem Butler was an elite WR with the Iowa State Cyclones

Butler’s NFL career up to this point left a lot to be desired after he proved what he was capable of during his college years with the Iowa State Cyclones.

Butler, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound possession receiver, routinely made opposing defensive backs look helpless en route to a career with 110 catches, over 2,100 yards receiving and 18 touchdowns.

Iowa State’s Hakeem Butler is a straight up beast
(via @SportsCenter)pic.twitter.com/i5JgC2auFS

— JzoSports (@JzoSports) September 15, 2018

Iowa State WR Hakeem Butler winning at the catch point against Texas CB Kris Boyd pic.twitter.com/Ls2rbGvC06

— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) November 18, 2018

Iowa State WR Hakeem Butler is just MEAN. He bullies DBs even when he’s not supposed to. Whether it is run or pass, his college tape is full of instances like this. While y’all focus on Instagram pics and body fat %, Butler is WR1. #NFLDraft #DraftTwitter pic.twitter.com/lLtPHKs139

— Salvatore Ioppolo (@saliopp) March 9, 2019

Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State

➕118.9 (97th-percentile) Speed Score
➕125.2 (73rd-percentile) Burst
➕43.5% Dominator
➕22 YPR (97th-percentile) in ‘18
➕95th-percentile Catch Radius

➖21.3 Breakout Age
➖One Year Wonder
➖Couldn’t command targets vs Allen Lazard
➖23 yrs old pic.twitter.com/PVxaLx2sUw

— Alex Johnson (@a_johnsonFF) April 19, 2019

Hakeem Butler once again proved his worth in the UFL

Butler’s most recent season in the UFL as a part of the St. Louis Battlehawks proved to NFL scouts, like those on the Cincinnati Bengals, that he deserves a second shot.

Butler’s efforts earned him UFL Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2024. Butler finished the UFL season with 45 receptions for over 650 yards and five touchdowns. The Battlehawks only played 10 games with one postseason game in the 2024 season.

Hakeem Butler

6’5”
225

Crowned offensive player of the year for the UFL

Working out with Cincinnati 🤔

pic.twitter.com/dZ7iKkIl7c

— Bengalorian (@thebengalorian) July 25, 2024

Butler, who has the build of a perimeter receiver, will have a hard time competing for playing time if he is able to find his way onto the 53-man roster.

Star wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are likely not going to be giving up their starting spots to Butler, but both receivers did miss time at some point during the 2024 season.

The Bengals’ new young wide receiver prospects such as Charlie Jones, Jermaine Burton and Andrei Iosivas do not fill the role that Butler would be able to fill. This means Butler would add important depth if he is able to prove he belongs on a 53-man roster in the NFL.

While Hakeem Butler has earned a shot with the Cincinnati Bengals, he has previously struggled in the NFL

While Butler has done enough outside of the NFL to prove that he at least deserves another look, he struggled immensely during his original NFL stint.

According to Pro Football Reference, Butler only has two games played with one target and no other stats recorded. The two games played came with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020.

The head coach of the team that drafted him, Kliff Kingsbury, explained in an article from Revenge of the Birds that Butler had a lot of potential, but that it would be best for the two to part ways.

“For Hakeem, he’s a talented young man. We really like Hakeem. It’s just one of those deals. Sometimes it’s better for both sides to have a fresh start, and we felt like that was one of those instances. He has a tremendous upside and we still think he can be a really good player in this league. It just wasn’t working here and so we allowed him to go somewhere else. I hope it works out for him because we did enjoy him while he was here,” said Kingsbury.

Butler’s second chance to make it in the NFL is not something that a lot of players are lucky enough to have. The workout with the Bengals on Friday will show if Butler has come far enough to make use of his second chance.

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