Seven games into his rookie season, Jermaine Gresham is progressing. That might sound underwhelming in this age of instant gratification and fantasy football points, but progression is what excites the Bengals about Gresham.
"He could be as good as he wants to be," quarterback Carson Palmer said. "The great thing about Jermaine is he wants to be great and he understands it's going to take a lot of work and it's not just going to happen."
Gresham has started the past five games and has caught 29 passes this season, putting him on pace to challenge Cris Collinsworth's franchise record of 67 receptions by a rookie set in 1981.
What hasn't been evident yet this season is the big-play ability Gresham showed in college at Oklahoma. He has two touchdowns but is averaging just 6.9 yards per catch. In three seasons playing with the Sooners, Gresham averaged 14.7 yards per catch and had 26 touchdowns.