ESPN Insider ranks Bengals #2 receiving corps in the NFL

[djs7685]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/13516331/ranking-top-10-receiving-corps-nfl

For those with Insider, there's the link.

I don't pay for it myself, but apparently we're #2 unless my source was lying for some unknown reason.

Colts #1, by the way.

Colts
Bengals
Lions
Falcons
Steelers
Cowboys
Bears
Broncos
Giants
Jets

Updated with full list. I guess this is interesting because I've been told that nobody outside of Cincinnati thinks we have elite receiving targets. I guess at least 1 person outside of the fanbase believes so. I don't know if we're exactly #2, but I do think it's a great group overall and it's good to see us getting some love.

[Element]

Dalton supporters are gonna be mad and deny this article.

[Utts]

(08-27-2015, 03:21 PM)djs7685 Wrote: http://espn.go.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/13516331/ranking-top-10-receiving-corps-nfl

For those with Insider, there's the link.

I don't pay for it myself, but apparently we're #2 unless my source was lying for some unknown reason.

Colts #1, by the way.

Colts
Bengals
Lions
Falcons
Steelers
Cowboys
Bears
Broncos
Giants
Jets

Updated with full list. I guess this is interesting because I've been told that nobody outside of Cincinnati thinks we have elite receiving targets. I guess at least 1 person outside of the fanbase believes so. I don't know if we're exactly #2, but I do think it's a great group overall and it's good to see us getting some love.

I don't see it. MLJ and Eifert have never had a complete season to prove themselves and Sanu is just okay. The rest are garbage.

[djs7685]

(08-27-2015, 03:27 PM)Utts Wrote: I don't see it. MLJ and Eifert have never had a complete season to prove themselves and Sanu is just okay. The rest are garbage.

Sanu is "okay" as a #1/2 he had to play last year. Luckily for us, he's probably the 4th target at best this season behind A.J., MLJ, and Eifert. We'll see how many targets go Gio's way too and Sanu could be looking at the 5th most targets on the team. I'd say he's pretttttty good if you consider him as a 4th/5th target guy.

We've seen what MLJ can do, and it's sort of silly to downplay an absurdly good redzone target for a QB that had a career low amount of red zone TDs just a year ago. Kid can get separation and having that RZ threat will be fantastic.

I think Eifert will end up being somewhere between the "omg uncoverable!!!" that we heard in preseason #1 and "omg he sucks now" that we heard in preseason #2. He'll be good, let's hope he stays healthy though, we don't have much behind him to be proud of.

[spazz70]

(08-27-2015, 03:27 PM)Utts Wrote: I don't see it. MLJ and Eifert have never had a complete season to prove themselves and Sanu is just okay. The rest are garbage.

2013

MLJ..16 games...3 starts...51 rec....700 yards....10 tds

Eifert...15 games...15 games and starts (must have been 2 te sets)...39 rec....400 yards...2 tds...


if both of these guys were healthy in 2014 do you think things may have been different??

[magikod]

#2? wow higher than I would have put us.

[GreenCornBengal]

On Paper.

We have a really good team On Paper.

The Bengals DO have a really good receiving core On Paper.

Everything about the Bengals is awesome... On Paper. 


where is ukumbus when you need him?

[BritishBengal]

Pretty generous. That being said when you actually look at the depth on other teams it's probably right.

[McC]

Seems a little generous, OTOH, what teams jumps to mind as having a stable of receivers? I would say GB but they won't have their number one.

[Wes Mantooth]

I was met with a lot of resistance in 2013, when I said Dalton had easily top 10 weapons. I've argued that they've been above average ever since he's been here. Take this receiver ranking and now consider the quality of both his backs, in both rushing and receiving, not to mention the offensive line. What you have is top 5 talent surrounding Andy for this season. There should be zero excuses. And that goes for everyone. Andy, Marvin, Hue, Mike, etc...

All that said, I disagree with a few of these rankings.

The first being, that there is no way our corp is better than Detroit's. Not even possible. Calvin > AJ. Tate > Jones.

Pittsburgh should probably be higher as well. You can easily argue that Brown is better than AJ. At the very least they're equal. I would take Marcus Wheaton, Martavius Bryant, and Lance Moore over Jones, Sanu, and Tate/Moore.

Atlanta is tough. What you're really asking is: Is Marvin Jones better than Roddy White? Doubtful, although White is getting up there in age.

Demayrius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are a pretty tough duo. I'm not sure we can beat that either.

If I had to rank our corp I'd probably put us in the 4-6 range.

[Shake n Blake]

(08-27-2015, 03:21 PM)djs7685 Wrote: Colts
Bengals
Lions
Falcons
Steelers
Cowboys
Bears
Broncos
Giants
Jets

Lions: Golden Tate had 1331 yards last year and he's a capable #1 on his own. Tate is so much better than Sanu and MLJ that's it's ridiculous. Calvin is still better than AJ. Ebron has as much potential as Eifert. Pettigrew is more experienced than our backup TE's.

Falcons: I can see it. AJ is better than Julio, IMO. Their best TE is Tamme. Roddy is declining.

Steelers: Na. You have to say that Brown is at least equal to AJ at this point. Wheaton and Bryant are at least equal to Sanu and MLJ. I actually like them a bit more. Heath Miller > Eifert at this point.

Cowboys: Debatable. Dez and AJ are about as equal as it gets. Williams is right there with Sanu or MLJ. Witten is better than Eifert. 

Broncos: DT and AJ are close. Sanders is a far better #2 than anything we have. Owen Daniels is still serviceable. 

Giants: Beckham + Cruz will be fun to watch. Reuben Randle "only" had 938 yards last year. Preston Parker had over 400 yards. Their TE (Larry Donnell) had 623 yards. Honestly, I think this may be the best group of receivers in the NFL.


Honestly, I'd put us behind the Giants, Colts, Steelers, and maybe the Cowboys and Broncos. So 5th or 6th sounds about right. I would've put the Bears and Packers ahead of us before the injuries to Kevin White and Jordy Nelson.

Fwiw, the Titans have one of the deepest WR groups with Kendall Wright, Harry Douglas, Hakeem Nicks, Justin Hunter, Dorial Green-Beckham and Jacoby Ford. No true studs yet, but that's one deep depth chart.

[CageTheBengal]

Broncos should be #1. Bengals should be a little bit lower.

[*bfine32*]

(08-27-2015, 03:27 PM)Utts Wrote: I don't see it. MLJ and Eifert have never had a complete season to prove themselves and Sanu is just okay. The rest are garbage.

I think you might be forgetting somebody

[*bengalfan74*]

I agree with the others who say 5 - 6 range. If Eifert and MLJ pan out and do what I believe they can we could well be in the top 3 conversation at seasons end. But at this point neither has really totally proven they're in the upper tier yet.

[CornerBlitz]

Regardless of whether we are 2nd or 5th, the bottom line is that we're good. No excuses for Dalton.

[PlayerFormerlyKnownAsMousecop]

(08-27-2015, 09:57 PM)CornerBlitz Wrote: Regardless of whether we are 2nd or 5th, the bottom line is that we're good. No excuses for Dalton.

You'll do whatever you can to spin this into a knock on Dalton.

[CornerBlitz]

(08-27-2015, 10:06 PM)PlayerFormerlyKnownAsMousecop Wrote: You'll do whatever you can to spin this into a knock on Dalton.

It is a knock on Dalton if he can't get this talented offense to play top 5. Everything around him is pretty damn good if you ask me...WR, RB, O-Line. It's time for him to step up his game....I think most would agree with that.

[*SHRacerX*]

(08-27-2015, 03:23 PM)Element Wrote: Dalton supporters are gonna be mad and deny this article.

Maybe they will point at how he actually performs when these guys are on the field with him, as opposed to out injured?  Here's a hint:  He's pretty damn good. 

Nah, facts get ignored as excuses around here. 

[*SHRacerX*]

(08-27-2015, 04:54 PM)spazz70 Wrote: 2013

MLJ..16 games...3 starts...51 rec....700 yards....10 tds

Eifert...15 games...15 games and starts (must have been 2 te sets)...39 rec....400 yards...2 tds...


if both of these guys were healthy in 2014 do you think things may have been different??

Uh oh....factual information.  Sure to make people call you an apologist.  Beware!

[Benton]

(08-27-2015, 05:20 PM)BritishBengal Wrote: Pretty generous. That being said when you actually look at the depth on other teams it's probably right.

I'd say pretty generous. We've got a lot of potential, but not a long track record.