The Cincinnati Bengals should be under a lot of pressure in 2026. Cincinnati finally addressed their terrible defense this offseason, giving fans hope for a playoff run later this fall. It will certainly help that the Bengals have the NFL's best wide receiver leading the way on offense.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler published the site's annual wide receiver rankings on Wednesday. ESPN reached out to over 70 NFL scouts, executives, and coaches to get a true sentiment analysis from around the league.
Bengals fans should not be surprised that Ja'Marr Chase earned the top spot in ESPN's rankings. This is the second year in a row that Chase has dominated this exercise.
“Chase dominated the voting like it was an unprepared rookie cornerback on an island, earning around 70% of the first-place votes despite finishing third in catches (125) and fourth in receiving yards (1,412) last season,” Fowler wrote. “The reason: He looks different than everybody else with the ball in his hands.”
There's no stopping Chase in Cincinnati's offense. He has a mind meld with QB Joe Burrow and is absolutely dangerous once the ball is in his hands.
Chase has 6,837 receiving yards over his first five seasons in the NFL. The only player with more receiving yards over the same time span is Justin Jefferson, who ESPN has in second place.
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One reason why Chase has become so dangerous is that he can run literally every route there is.
“He showed over the past two years or so that he can play inside and outside,” a veteran NFL coach said. “[The Bengals] moved him around more, and he's gotten better as the ultimate chess piece.”
The Bengals finally addressed their defense this offseason too, adding superstar Dexter Lawrence to the middle of the d-line. Cincinnati also brought in multiple free agents, including EDGE Boye Mafe and safety Bryan Cook.
It will be exciting to see if Chase and the Bengals finally live up to expectations later this fall.
The Cincinnati Bengals should be under a lot of pressure in 2026. Cincinnati finally addressed their terrible defense this offseason, giving fans hope for a playoff run later this fall. It will certainly help that the Bengals have the NFL's best wide receiver leading the way on offense.