Breaking news:Cincinnati Bengals sign $28.million deal the last 5 w star his playing during NFL season
Breaking news:Cincinnati Bengals sign $28.million deal the last 5 w star his playing during NFL season
The preseason is over and now we just have one weekend without real NFL football. We’re so close you can almost taste it! ESPN, sensing the lull in the action, dropped their prediction for the top 100 NFL players heading into the 2024 season.
Unlike the NFL Top 100, ESPN was a little kinder to the Cincinnati Bengals. The same players are on the list, but their spots are very different.
Lowest on the list is edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who came in at No. 58 (No. 77 in the NFL’s ranking).
“Hendrickson has proved to be one of the NFL’s best edge rushers, and he will have the opportunity to put up even better numbers this season,” Ben Baby wrote. “With the addition of DT Sheldon Rankins, his former teammate in New Orleans, there should be more push from the interior. That should leave Hendrickson in better matchups for him to attack opposing quarterbacks.”
Hendrickson finished tied for second in the league in sacks with Josh Allen with 17.5 sacks, behind TJ Watt, who had 19. ESPN projected Hendrickson to make 12 sacks and 43 tackles in 2024.
You’d think the wide receiver would be next, but that’s not the case. ESPN ranks quarterback Joe Burrow as the 13th best player in the league (NFL had him at No. 39).
“The biggest x factor will be Burrow’s right wrist and how it performs after ligament repair last november,” Baby wrote. “But assuming he’s healthy, this should be a bounce-back year after an injury-ridden 2023. Burrow believes this is a deeper wide receiver group, and the run game should be much improved with the addition of Zack Moss. The Bengals are looking to manufacture more explosive players, which was a major issue even when Burrow was healthy last season.”
He’s predicted by ESPN to have 4,123 passing yards with 27 passing touchdowns, another three with his legs, and 11 interceptions.
Finally, we come to Ja’Marr Chase, who practiced for the first time this offseason now that the preseason is over. He comes in on the list at No. 6, the second-best wide receiver behind Justin Jefferson. The NFL Top 100 had Chase at No. 45.
“The Cincinnati coaching staff believes this could be an even bigger year for Chase,” wrote Baby. “As he enters his fourth season, he not only has a full command of the offense, but he should be a more versatile part of it. With wide receiver Tyler Boyd gone, Chase will have the freedom to be used as both an outside and inside receiver, which is something he wants to take his game to an All-Pro level.”
He is then projected to finish the season with 106 receptions, 1,343 yards and eight touchdowns
