In the seventh of a 32-part series, we are featuring all National Football League teams with a prediction of where each team will finish within their division, key off-season acquisitions and their top fantasy stars. Here are the Cincinnati Bengals.
Key off Season Acquisitions
The Bengals made three significant offseason acquisitions. In are defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins of Covington, Georgia, safety Geno Stone of New Castle, Pennsylvania, and running back Zack Moss of Hialeah Gardens, Florida.
Rankins signed a two-year deal worth $26 million after playing last year with the Houston Texans. In 2023, Rankins had 37 combined tackles (29 solo tackles and eight assisted tackles), nine tackles for a loss, 10 quarterback hits, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery for 13 yards and one touchdown, and six sacks. The forced fumble came in a 30-27 Texans win over the Cincinnati Bengals on November 12, and the fumble recovery of 13 yards for one touchdown came in a 26-3 Texans win over the Tennessee Titans on December 31. In addition to the Texans, Rankins also has played for the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets.
Stone signed a two-year deal worth $14 million with the Cincinnati Bengals after playing the last four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. In 2023, Stone had 68 combined tackles (44 solo tackles and 24 assisted tackles), seven interceptions for 101 yards and nine pass deflections. Stone’s seven interceptions were second most in the NFL.
Moss played last season with the Indianapolis Colts after beginning his career with the Buffalo Bills. He signed a two-year deal worth $8 million. Moss is expected to replace Joe Mixon, who signed with the Texans. In 2023, Moss saw significant playing time due to regular injuries to Jonathan Taylor. He had 183 rushes for 794 rushing yards and five touchdowns, along with 27 catches for 192 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Moss’s two touchdown catches came in Colts wins. The first was for 17 yards in a 22-19 Colts win over the Baltimore Ravens on September 24, and the second was for 16 yards in a 30-13 Colts win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 16.
Fantasy Stars
The Bengals have three fantasy stars ranked in the top 10 at their respective positions. Quarterback Joe Burrow of Ames, Iowa is ranked sixth at quarterback. He completed 244 passes in 365 attempts, with 2309 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2023. Burrow also has 31 rushes for 88 rushing yards.
Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase of Harvey, Louisiana is the third ranked wide receiver in fantasy football behind Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins and CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys. Chase was a three-time Pro Bowler in 2023. He had 100 receptions (reached 100 catches in a season for the first time), for 1216 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Meanwhile, kicker Evan McPherson of Fort Payne, Alabama made 26 of 31 field goals and all 40 converts. He is ranked third among kickers behind Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens and Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Projected Finish
The Bengals should be a playoff contender. At this time I am projecting a second place finish in the AFC North. Baltimore’s defense is simply better, but the Bengals will make noise in the conference due to a steady connection between Burrow and Chase.
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