Most would agree the Cincinnati Bengals have an elite cast of wide receivers.
Where they actually rank compared to the rest of the league, though, might create some heated conversations.
Pro Football Focus’ Anthony Treash dove deep on this topic recently while ranking the top wideouts leaguewide into tiers.
The first Bengals wideout is, of course, Ja’Marr Chase, who lands sixth overall in the “Tier 1: Elite” category:
“He is a complete wide receiver in every sense, but his impact as a deep threat is what really helped the Bengals to the Super Bowl. Chase led the league in deep receiving touchdowns as a rookie (8) and finished second in total deep yards (576).”
It’s Tee Higgins who next checks in on the list at 13th overall in the “Tier 2: Young talents on the cusp of Tier 1” category:
“The 6-foot-4, 215-pound pass-catcher can make some difficult grabs over the middle of the field and use his large catch radius to reel in slightly inaccurate targets. Even Joe Burrow — one of the most accurate passers in the league — can misfire from time to time, but Higgins can help him out. His eight explosive receptions of 15-plus yards on inaccurate targets were tied for the fifth-most last season.”
And no, Tyler Boyd isn’t that far down the list at No. 28, ranked as a high-quality target.
These sort of rankings — and what the players produce on the field — is part of the reason fans might cast a concerned eye at the future when it comes time to pay all of the wideouts, plus do Joe Burrow’s contract.
That’s an unfounded concern, at least for the moment. For now, it’s best to enjoy the fact the Bengals have once again assembled an elite cast of wideouts around a clear-cut top quarterback.
