ESPN has released their rankings for all 32 NFL teams and instead of just some guy giving his take, they went with PFF grades.

With the 2021 draft and free agency behind us, we're breaking down each team's roster using the PFF database, with an eye toward the projected starters. We looked at both the PFF grades from the 2020 season -- a number included for every projected starter -- and a more comprehensive look at each player's career using both PFF grades and statistics.

Pro Football Focus grades of 90-plus categorize as elite, 80-89.9 are good/high quality, 70-79.9 fall under average and 69.9 or lower are considered below average.

For rookies and players not active (or barely active) in 2020, we used college grades or NFL grades from earlier seasons. NFL grades from 2019 or earlier are marked with (*), college grades from 2020 are marked with (**), and college grades from 2019 or earlier are marked with (***).

Here's how the 32 rosters stack up heading into this season, complete with each lineup's biggest strengths, weaknesses and X factors.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/31700971/nfl-roster-rankings-all-32-teams-2021-strengths-weaknesses-x-factors-every-team-starting-lineup


For those of you without ESPN+

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/bengals-roster-near-the-bottom-of-the-nfl-in-latest-rankings


24. Cincinnati Bengals

Biggest strength: Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase's connection in 2019 at LSU, particularly on deep balls, was special. Chase caught 24 of 36 passes in which Burrow targeted him 20 or more yards downfield that year. Fourteen of those receptions were touchdowns. As a rookie last season, Burrow completed just nine of 48 passes 20 or more yards downfield overall. Cincinnati will be hoping that an NFL reunion between Burrow and Chase will help solve some of those deep passing woes. Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are one of the league's better wide receiver trios on paper.

Biggest weakness: The Bengals' offensive line should be better in 2021 than it was last season. But that isn't a high bar to clear. There are still legitimate reasons for concern on the interior offensive line in Cincinnati. Second-round rookie Jackson Carman, Quinton Spain, Xavier Su'a-Filo and Michael Jordan are among the team's top options at guard. The last three combined for a 55.7 PFF grade last season with the Bengals, while Carman will be transitioning from left tackle at Clemson to right guard in the NFL.

X factor for 2021: Cincinnati handed out sizable offseason contracts to both D.J. Reader and Trae Waynes last offseason. The two combined for 259 defensive snaps (all by Reader) due to injury. Reader took a clear step forward in his career with Houston in 2019 (85.4 PFF grade), and Waynes earned overall grades of at least 66.0 in each of his final three seasons with the Vikings -- a solid mark at the cornerback position. Healthy returns for those two veterans should bring a steadying presence to this defense.


OFFENSE                                              DEFENSE
QB Joe Burrow (75.1)                            DI D.J. Reader (69.6)
RB Joe Mixon (65.3)                              DI Larry Ogunjobi (51.4)
RB Samaje Perine (76.7)                        ED Trey Hendrickson (70.9)
WR Ja'Marr Chase (91.1***)                  ED Sam Hubbard (68.0)
WR Tee Higgins (75.9)                          LB Germaine Pratt (41.5)
WR Tyler Boyd (75.8)                            LB Logan Wilson (54.7)
TE Drew Sample (61.4)                          LB Akeem Davis-Gaither (40.7)
LT Jonah Williams (70.1)                        CB Trae Waynes (67.0*)
LG Quinton Spain (56.7)                         CB Chidobe Awuzie (51.9)
C Trey Hopkins (63.8)                            CB Mike Hilton (63.7)
RG Jackson Carman (79.2**)                  S Vonn Bell (71.5)
RT Riley Reiff (71.4)                              S Jessie Bates III (90.1)

I expect jumps in many of those ratings and rankings do not necessarily determine wins-losses.

The down right horrible coaching the players have received over the past two years clearly affects their performance on the field.

Just think how much higher the numbers would be a decent coaching staff.

I don't look at the Bengals roster and think "what a horrible roster we have." I look at it and think "Boy, if we had a coaching staff who could scheme around our strengths then we could be looking at a 50/50 season, possibly even the 7th seed. But, alas, such is not the case.

(07-06-2021, 02:52 PM)BengalChris Wrote: The down right horrible coaching the players have received over the past two years clearly affects their performance on the field.

Just think how much higher the numbers would be a decent coaching staff.

I don't look at the Bengals roster and think "what a horrible roster we have." I look at it and think "Boy, if we had a coaching staff who could scheme around our strengths then we could be looking at a 50/50 season, possibly even the 7th seed. But, alas, such is not the case.

I disagree, we have been turning over the roster, called a rebuild, I'm not dumping on all the coaches, sure we could have performed better but , this  is ZTs team now, very few left pre 2 years ago, we have one of the youngest teams I read no surprise to our ranking but this is the year to actually start judging more of our roster.

(07-06-2021, 09:11 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: I disagree, we have been turning over the roster, called a rebuild, I'm not dumping on all the coaches, sure we could have performed better but , this  is ZTs team now, very few left pre 2 years ago, we have one of the youngest teams I read no surprise to our ranking but this is the year to actually start judging more of our roster.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. If they sh@t the bed this season, then I’ll start being much more critical of ZT, as it will mainly be his roster. He certainly has been far from perfect, but the day he was hired I said I’d give him 3 years, and he inherited an extremely flawed roster.

Perine is better than Burrow..? I did not know

I'm pretty excited about those two lineups.

Were going to be one of the Better offensive units in the league I could see 4 or 5 guys being top 10 at their respective positions. Burrow QB, Williams LT, Mixon RB, Boyd Slot, and Higgins WR.

Defensively I see three guys which actually surprises me Bates at FS, Reader NT, and Hilton at Nickel. The problem I don't see a Cover Guy, a pass rusher, or LB that will be a top player at their position.

(07-06-2021, 10:49 PM)J24 Wrote: Were going to be one of the Better offensive units in the league I could see 4 or 5 guys being top 10 at their  respective positions.  Burrow QB, Williams LT, Mixon RB, Boyd Slot, and Higgins WR.

Defensively I see three guys which actually surprises me Bates at FS, Reader NT, and Hilton at Nickel. The problem I don't see a Cover Guy, a pass rusher, or LB that will be a top player at their position.

Williams is currently only rated higher then 6 other LT's, so getting to top 10 status would be one hell of a jump.

(07-06-2021, 11:18 PM)Murdock2420 Wrote: Williams is currently only rated higher then 6 other LT's, so getting to top 10 status would be one hell of a jump.

So it couldn't happen?

(07-06-2021, 11:50 PM)sandwedge Wrote: So it couldn't happen?

God I wish I had this irrational optimism that some of this board has

(07-06-2021, 11:50 PM)sandwedge Wrote: So it couldn't happen?

Never said it couldn't.. simply said it would be a hell of a jump from 26th to top 10. 

That type of jump certainly can't be common.

(07-06-2021, 02:52 PM)BengalChris Wrote: The down right horrible coaching the players have received over the past two years clearly affects their performance on the field.

Just think how much higher the numbers would be a decent coaching staff.

I don't look at the Bengals roster and think "what a horrible roster we have." I look at it and think "Boy, if we had a coaching staff who could scheme around our strengths then we could be looking at a 50/50 season, possibly even the 7th seed. But, alas, such is not the case.

Teams with good rosters don't have multiple off-season threads annoiting Auden Tate as a WR2 like we did last year.   They aren't saying Tyler Boyd is a WR1, either. 

We've been in this realm for the past few years where we hype our good players as great and any scrub that flashes as a potential star.  Fans typically will side with players over coaches because it's easier to turn over a coaching staff than a whole roster. 

The roster went in the crapper during Marvin's final years due to FA losses, bad drafts, aging stars, and overpaying to keep our own guys.  It seems to be getting better, but there's still a good deal of work to be done.

(07-07-2021, 12:22 AM)Murdock2420 Wrote: Never said it couldn't.. simply said it would be a hell of a jump from 26th to top 10. 

That type of jump certainly can't be common.

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-offensive-tackle-rankings-2021-nfl-season

Jonah is ranked 24th in PFF's 2021 T rankings and that includes both right and left tackles.

You can be a contender in this league with a bad defense, just look at Buffalo last year. This O-line is far from fixed, but in a year or two when that is retooled we have a great chance of being a top 10 roster due to offensive potential. Agree on the 24 ranking for this year, but I do think there is potential to be more like 15 by the end of the year.

(07-07-2021, 01:14 AM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: You can be a contender in this league with a bad defense, just look at Buffalo last year. This O-line is far from fixed, but in a year or two when that is retooled we have a great chance of being a top 10 roster due to offensive potential. Agree on the 24 ranking for this year, but I do think there is potential to be more like 15 by the end of the year.

Yea buffalo had a real good secondary though. And it’s a passing league after all

(07-07-2021, 01:19 AM)Frank Booth Wrote: Yea buffalo had a real good secondary though. And it’s a passing league after all

Ya and even Buffalo on its worst day is still better than our defense as of late. There are subpar defenses and then there are what we have. Tough to watch.

(07-07-2021, 01:14 AM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: You can be a contender in this league with a bad defense, just look at Buffalo last year. This O-line is far from fixed, but in a year or two when that is retooled we have a great chance of being a top 10 roster due to offensive potential. Agree on the 24 ranking for this year, but I do think there is potential to be more like 15 by the end of the year.

Buffalo's defense last year was 14th overall, 16th in scoring, 3rd in takeaways, and 15th in sacks. Not an elite defense by any means, but above average while being very good at taking the ball from the opposing team. Hardly what one would call a bad defense.

(07-06-2021, 01:28 PM)Murdock2420 Wrote: ESPN has released their rankings for all 32 NFL teams and instead of just some guy giving his take, they went with PFF grades.

With the 2021 draft and free agency behind us, we're breaking down each team's roster using the PFF database, with an eye toward the projected starters. We looked at both the PFF grades from the 2020 season -- a number included for every projected starter -- and a more comprehensive look at each player's career using both PFF grades and statistics.

Pro Football Focus grades of 90-plus categorize as elite, 80-89.9 are good/high quality, 70-79.9 fall under average and 69.9 or lower are considered below average.

For rookies and players not active (or barely active) in 2020, we used college grades or NFL grades from earlier seasons. NFL grades from 2019 or earlier are marked with (*), college grades from 2020 are marked with (**), and college grades from 2019 or earlier are marked with (***).

Here's how the 32 rosters stack up heading into this season, complete with each lineup's biggest strengths, weaknesses and X factors.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/31700971/nfl-roster-rankings-all-32-teams-2021-strengths-weaknesses-x-factors-every-team-starting-lineup


For those of you without ESPN+

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/bengals-roster-near-the-bottom-of-the-nfl-in-latest-rankings


24. Cincinnati Bengals

Biggest strength: Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase's connection in 2019 at LSU, particularly on deep balls, was special. Chase caught 24 of 36 passes in which Burrow targeted him 20 or more yards downfield that year. Fourteen of those receptions were touchdowns. As a rookie last season, Burrow completed just nine of 48 passes 20 or more yards downfield overall. Cincinnati will be hoping that an NFL reunion between Burrow and Chase will help solve some of those deep passing woes. Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are one of the league's better wide receiver trios on paper.

Biggest weakness: The Bengals' offensive line should be better in 2021 than it was last season. But that isn't a high bar to clear. There are still legitimate reasons for concern on the interior offensive line in Cincinnati. Second-round rookie Jackson Carman, Quinton Spain, Xavier Su'a-Filo and Michael Jordan are among the team's top options at guard. The last three combined for a 55.7 PFF grade last season with the Bengals, while Carman will be transitioning from left tackle at Clemson to right guard in the NFL.

X factor for 2021: Cincinnati handed out sizable offseason contracts to both D.J. Reader and Trae Waynes last offseason. The two combined for 259 defensive snaps (all by Reader) due to injury. Reader took a clear step forward in his career with Houston in 2019 (85.4 PFF grade), and Waynes earned overall grades of at least 66.0 in each of his final three seasons with the Vikings -- a solid mark at the cornerback position. Healthy returns for those two veterans should bring a steadying presence to this defense.


OFFENSE                                              DEFENSE
QB Joe Burrow (75.1)                            DI D.J. Reader (69.6)
RB Joe Mixon (65.3)                              DI Larry Ogunjobi (51.4)
RB Samaje Perine (76.7)                        ED Trey Hendrickson (70.9)
WR Ja'Marr Chase (91.1***)                  ED Sam Hubbard (68.0)
WR Tee Higgins (75.9)                          LB Germaine Pratt (41.5)
WR Tyler Boyd (75.8)                            LB Logan Wilson (54.7)
TE Drew Sample (61.4)                          LB Akeem Davis-Gaither (40.7)
LT Jonah Williams (70.1)                        CB Trae Waynes (67.0*)
LG Quinton Spain (56.7)                         CB Chidobe Awuzie (51.9)
C Trey Hopkins (63.8)                            CB Mike Hilton (63.7)
RG Jackson Carman (79.2**)                  S Vonn Bell (71.5)
RT Riley Reiff (71.4)                              S Jessie Bates III (90.1)

Good stuff, thanks for sharing.

A couple things jumped out at me:  Ogunjobi (Who for some reason I want to call:  Obi-wan Gunjobi) was asked to play NT by the Browns last year, and not his natural position.  Just three years ago, he graded out at a 78.  I think with the talent next to him now, he will be at least average here, if not a bit above average (since he is playing for a contract, too).  

Mixon graded out in the high 70s before last season, and I think the line was putrid the short stint he was able to play last year.  

The LB scores jump off the page for their ineptitude, but I will credit a great deal of that to the extremely porous line in front of them.  There were street guys starting at DT in front of them for a large portion of the season.  Even Ray Lewis complained when they didn't have a house in the middle of the line to keep him clean.  Improvements on the defensive line should go a long way to allowing the LBs to flow and utilize their athleticism.  

Outside of those minor points, I don't see any glaring weaknesses, but we also know the depth (especially at positions like OT and S) is paper thin.

I will say right now that Burrow is elite, as is Jessie Bates.  I believe Joe Mixon surely could be and Ja'Marr Chase breaks records wherever he goes.  I think for the Bengals to have a playoff-type season (oh please...can you imagine the excitement behind a Burrow-led team going to the playoffs?) they will need a couple other guys to have a big step up in their game.  Hoping it is guys like Hubbard, Wilson, Jonah Williams, and a couple young rookies showing like Carman and Ossai.  If that happens, they will be able to compete with anyone.  Roster rankings be damned.  

(07-07-2021, 12:03 AM)Frank Booth Wrote: God I wish I had this irrational optimism that some of this board has

Is it irrational to believe in a guy that started the first nine games of his career against a murderer's row of pass rushers (and survived)?

Is it irrational to believe in a guy that had a veritable turd storm next to him at LG?

Is it irrational to believe in a guy that was coached to do some horrible technique (two handed punch?) by a thankfully-dismissed Oline coach?

Is it irrational to believe in his potential when our future HoF LT (Whit) didn't start at LT until he was 28?  Whit, BTW, had a near-identical 70 PFF rating his rookie season, which was playing guard.  

Call me irrational, then.   

Our D line was basically hot garbage last year which put a dent in everybody behind them grade wise.

Our Oline was hammered poop last year which brought all other grades down as well. I'm hoping for a good bit of improvement this season.

How much ???