Housh gets it

[*ochocincos*]

(03-02-2021, 11:34 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Cleveland Tenn , Rams, Washington, Steelers, Colts, Baltimore do not have a established elite WR  and they made playoffs

I didn't say "make the playoffs," I said have an upper-tier offense.
But I also think you misinterpreted what I said. I said they probably need an elite WR or TE to get to that upper-tier offense. I said that because they don't have an elite offensive weapon right now. They have 3 good ones, but none are elite. They also don't have a defense to compensate for their bad offense.

But let's look at every team you listed...
CLE, BAL, and TEN all have elite running games. They don't depend on the passing game.
Rams made the playoffs because they had the #1 defense in both Yards Allowed and Points Allowed.
PIT had the #3 defense in both YA and PA.
IND had both a Top 10 offense and defense. For much of the season, they had a Top 5 defense. They also had the #3 RB in the league. So they didn't need an elite pass catcher because of their defense and running game.

Washington doesn't count. They made the playoffs because of their crappy division.

If you are trying to say you can get to the playoffs without an elite pass catcher, yes you can. But you need a dominant running game and/or defense if you don't have an elite passing attack. Given the Bengals don't have a good running game or defense, an elite pass catcher probably makes the most sense.