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 Cincinnati Bengals have had massive problems on their defense in recent years. So it came to no surprise, that the four new faces on the Bengals (three via free agency and one via trade) came on the defensive side of the football. They are defensive end Boye Mafe of Golden Valley, Minnesota, safety Bryan Cook of Cincinnati, Ohio, Jonathan Allen of Anniston, Alabama and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence of Wake Forest, North Carolina.
Mafe signed a three-year deal worth $60 million with the Cincinnati Bengals on March 9. He won a Super Bowl title with the Seahawks last season. Maye was with Seattle from 2022 to 2025. In 2025, Mafe had 31 combined tackles (20 assisted tackles and 11 solo tackles), four quarterback hits, four tackles for a loss, five pass deflections, two sacks and one forced fumble. The sacks came in a 44-22 Seahawks win over the Arizona Cardinals on November 9 and in a 27-10 Seahawks win over the Carolina Panthers on December 28. The forced fumble came in a 26-0 Seahawks shutout win over the Minnesota Vikings on November 30.
Cook signed a three-year contract worth $40.25 million on March 12. He won a Super Bowl title with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2023. Cook was with the Chiefs for four seasons. In 2025, Cook had 85 combined tackles (50 solo tackles and 35 assisted tackles), six pass deflections and one tackle for a loss. The tackle for a loss came in a 23-20 Chiefs overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts on November 23.
Allen signed a two-year contract worth $26 million on March 13. He is joining his third NFL team after eight seasons in Washington (2017 to 2024) and one season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2025. This past season, Allen had 68 combined tackles (29 solo tackles and 39 assisted tackles), seven tackles for a loss, 11 quarterback hits, 3.5 sacks and one fumble recovery. Ironically, the fumble recovery came in a 48-10 Vikings dominant win over the Bengals on September 21. Allen was selected to the Pro Bowl two straight years with Washington in 2021 and 2022.
Lawrence was traded from the New York Giants to the Bengals on April 6 for a first round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. He is joining his second NFL team after seven seasons with the Giants. Lawrence was selected to three straight Pro Bowls from 2022 to 2024. In 2025, Lawrence had 31 combined tackles (14 solo tackles and 17 assisted tackles), four tackles for a loss, eight quarterback hits, one interception for 37 yards, four pass deflections and half a sack. The interception came in a 21-18 Giants win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Fantasy Stars
The Bengals are loaded with offensive stars. Let’s take a look.
Quarterback Joe Burrow of Ames, Iowa is ranked third among NFL quarterbacks (behind Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles and Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills). In 2025, Burrow completed 173 passes in 259 attempts for 1809 passing yards. He had 17 touchdown passes and five interceptions. On the ground, Burrow had 14 rushes for 41 rushing yards.
Canadian Chase Brown of London, Ontario is ranked ninth in fantasy football among running backs. In 2025, he had 232 rushes for 1019 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, along with 69 catches for 437 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase of Harvey, Louisiana is ranked first in fantasy football among wide receivers. In 2025, he had 125 catches for 1412 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches. Meanwhile, Tee Higgins of Oak Ridge, Tennessee was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career. The ninth ranked wide receiver in fantasy football, Higgins had 59 catches for 846 receiving yards and a career-high 11 touchdown catches.
Evan McPherson is ranked fourth in fantasy among kickers. The native of Fort Payne, Alabama made 25 of 28 field goals and 41 of 44 converts.
Projected Finish
We all know the Cincinnati Bengals offense is great, and their defense is poor. Expect the Bengals to be better than in years past, and get into second place in the AFC North.
