If Penei was drafted at 5, is this a playoff team?

[Nicomo Cosca]

(01-06-2022, 03:03 AM)Whatever Wrote: I don't personally believe we make the playoffs without Chase.  Simply put, that is just too much of a chunk of the team's offensive output to lose.  Of the Bengals 6333 yards from scrimmage this year, Chase accounts for 1450 of them.  We also probably aren't a playoff team without Mixon, Tee, or Boyd, either.  We're in a situation where the offensive weapons at the top of the depth chart are extremely good, but the depth is terrible.  You also throw in the fact that he has more TD's than the rest of our WR corps combined and it's hard to see the Bengals in the playoffs without him.  

Beyond that, you look at specific games.  I mean, we ain't winning that KC game without that insane performance.  We also won games in weeks 3 and 4 with Higgins out.  Steelers game we probably still win because the D locked them down, but we likely don't win the Thursday nighter against the Jags coming out as flat as we did with no Chase and Higgins out.  The opener against the Vikings also likely doesn't make it to OT where the Bengals win without the TD bomb to Chase down the sideline just before the half.   

Sewell had a rough start to the season in pass pro, but has put together a good rookie season.  He would have been a good pick, as well.  Pitts also.  Crazy that Pitts is only the 2nd rookie TE in NFL history to top 1000 yards and isn't even talked about for ORotY.

I would imagine that’s because of 2 things; he plays on a terrible team, and he also only has 1 TD in 16 games (seriously fire your OC).