With the busiest portions of the NFL offseason now in the rearview mirror, it’s just about time to really start looking ahead to the start of the 2022 season and that means early power rankings will be making plenty an appearance.
Look no further than legendary NFL writer Peter King, who unveiled his latest power rankings in this week’s Football Morning in America.
Coming off their Super Bowl appearance and busy offseason, King has love for the Cincinnati Bengals, coming in at No. 7 in his power rankings.
The Bengals were the beneficiaries of a lousy game by the top-seed Titans in the divisional round and a Patrick Mahomes pick on the first drive of OT in the AFC title game. Good for them for the transcendent season, defying all expectations, but they had some good fortune and a great kicker.
Now for the good news: This is a rising team, highly competitive, with a confident and fearless quarterback in Joe Burrow and a fiery defensive leader and good pass-rusher in Trey Hendrickson. The right side of the offensive line, trampled in the Super Bowl, is all new: center Ted Karras, guard Alex Cappa, tackle La’el Collins. The loss of tight end C.J. Uzomah will be felt, but there’s enough firepower here for the Bengals to be a top five offense. I like Cincinnati to edge Baltimore for the division title, but a deep run will be tough with a first-place schedule—games at the Cowboys, the Saints, the Titans, the Bucs and the Patriots, and KC and Buffalo visiting the Queen City. The Bengals are a team on the rise, without question. I don’t think they can beat Buffalo this year, but in the long haul, I love their prospects to contend in the Burrow years.
The Bengals are the fourth-highest AFC team on this list, with the first three making up his top three overall: Buffalo, Los Angeles, Kansas City. Three NFC teams follow in the Rams, Packers and Buccaneers.
Just like in his write-up and quick division prediction, Cincinnati is just ahead of the Baltimore Ravens, who come in at No. 8.
The Cleveland Browns come in at No. 18 and the Pittsburgh Steelers bring up the rear of the division at No. 23.
