The Cincinnati Bengals were a staple of the top 10 in power rankings before last season, where Joe Burrow entered the year hurt, briefly recovered for roughly two games, then exited for the year.
For most, the Bengals have to prove they’re all the way back to regain that sort of footing in power rankings.
But in post-free agency rankings from Touchdown Wire’s Jarrett Bailey, that Joe Burrow factor plays a big role in the Bengals landing fourth overall:
Everyone seems to be sleeping on the Bengals. With a healthy Joe Burrow and the usual suspects on offense, they can’t be counted out. They needed veteran talent in the secondary, so they signed Geno Stone and brought back Vonn Bell. The Bengals seem like the forgotten team because their quarterback was injured throughout most of the season, but if they live up to their potential, they’ll be one of the best teams in the league.
In today’s NFL, a team with a top-five passer is usually somewhere in the top 10 of actual rankings, let alone power rankings.
At this point, the Bengals will need the re-tooled secondary to perform better than last season and the front office will need to keep beefing up the pass-rush — never mind attempting to find a way to replace DJ Reader in the middle.
But in hypothetical power rankings in March? The Bengals are a solid on-paper team before the draft.
