Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton’s selection by the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL Draft last week went a little differently than the other 256 picks.

In the second and third rounds, the NFL had former players announce most of the choices. T.J. Houshmandzadeh announced Cincinnati’s third-round selection.

“This pick means something to me as I’ve been training this kid for a long time and now he’s going to be drafted by the Bengals,” Houshmandzadeh told the crowd in Detroit on Friday night before announcing Cincinnati’s selection of Burton with the 80th pick.

“That’s honestly kind of crazy if you think about it like that,” Burton said. “I just look at it as a blessed moment.”

Houshmandzadeh spent the first eight of his 11 NFL seasons as a wide receiver for the Bengals and led the NFL in receptions in 2007.

“It’s honestly amazing having T.J. train me during these past few years, even going into college,” Burton said. “Working with him is honestly great. Just to know his history and his background with the game of football and his knowledge on it and to see the way he thinks, the way he puts it into the drills and the way he talks to you and his terminology, it really helps me. And we also developed a relationship to the point where we talk about other things, just life things and just a lot of maturity and growth.”

The Bengals have one of the best wide-receiver pairs in the NFL with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. But Cincinnati did not re-sign Tyler Boyd after had had 67 receptions for 667 yards and two touchdowns in his eighth season with the Bengals in 2023.

Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor still referred to the Bengals’ lineup of pass-catchers as “one of the deepest receiver rooms in the league with talent and with character, so I’m excited about that group.”

In three seasons with Cincinnati, Chase has 268 receptions for 3,717 yards and 29 touchdowns. In four seasons with the Bengals, Higgins has 257 receptions for 3,684 yards and 24 touchdowns.

“Those guys have great skill sets and unreal ability and talent,” Burton said. “I feel like we can all correlate off each other and really do some big things.”

Cincinnati posted a 9-8 record in 2023 after losing quarterback Joe Burrow in the 10th game of the season to a wrist injury. In the two previous seasons, the Bengals had reached the AFC Championship Game twice and the Super Bowl once.

Burton said he was “more than blessed and honored to have the opportunity to play with Joe.”

RELATED: NICK SABAN ON ‘THE NO. 1 THING’ JERMAINE BURTON NEEDS TO DO TO SUCCEED IN THE NFL

Boyd served as Cincinnati’s primary slot receiver. Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said Burton could fill that role and others.

“He’ll fit great,” Pitcher said. “He’s explosive. And so that’s really our job now is how do we mix and match those skill sets. But what he brings to the table in regards to the threat he’s going to pose to the defense, how they’re going to have to respect all three of those players and the explosiveness they bring, we’ll figure that part out. But he’ll take care of the hard part, which is separating from defenders and catching the football. …

“He’s a legitimate, take-the-top-off deep threat. But that’s not all he does. He’s a threat over the middle of the field, he separates on abrupt breaking routes, he finishes on the football on difficult situations. He’s a complete player. He’s played in the slot. He’ll have an opportunity to do that for us here, and as I mentioned before, we’ll mix and match those guys. That’s the fun part. We’ll create mismatches, and he’ll be a good player for us.”

Burton came to Alabama after two seasons at Georgia. In two seasons with the Crimson Tide, Burton had 79 receptions for 1,475 yards and 15 touchdowns. In 2023, he averaged 20.5 yards per catch.

“The tape jumps out at you,” Taylor said. “We love the tape. We got to know the person. We feel really good about the pick. …

“Well-rounded tape. Super competitive. Plays with a lot of energy. I didn’t have any drops on his tape this year. Goes and fights for the ball. Shows a lot of different things he can do outside and inside. Finishes plays in the end zone. Really like his competitiveness, his energy. Excited to get him into that receiver room with us.”

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.