The Cincinnati Bengals won’t stop being featured prominently in major projections, especially not with the league likely to use them in significant programming spots next year and beyond, too.
One prediction Bengals fans are sure to love? ESPN’s NFL experts sat down and projected major awards and other big-ticket items recently.
Tristan H. Cockcroft, notably, was one of four experts to predict Joe Burrow will win league MVP — and he went as far as writing that he sees Burrow hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, too:
“Cockcroft: Joe Burrow, QB, Bengals. He has been outstanding in all three NFL seasons, has among the best groups of receivers in the league and has beaten defending MVP/Super Bowl champ (Mahomes) in high-leverage situations multiple times. Need I go on? As with my Super Bowl pick, I think it’s his time to shine. For the second straight year, the league’s MVP will also win the Super Bowl after such a long time without it happening.”
Projections like this in February are more a fun exercise to pass the time during a lull of the offseason than anything else.
But that said, the fact it’s not too outlandish of a prediction has to be fun for Bengals fans. Burrow was a strong MVP candidate before events near the end of the season and was still one of five finalists. A year removed from making the Super Bowl, he nearly made it again, too.
Cincinnati needs to have an excellent draft and find a way to retain core free agents and/or add new player in the coming months, but the prediction is fair enough.
