Three Headed Monster: The Bengals Young Stars
Last season, the Cincinnati Bengals made one of the largest turnarounds a franchise has made in the history of the NFL. After four straight seasons of being way below .500 on the year and last place finishes in the AFC North, the Bengals not only won their division, they got their first playoff win in 31 years and eventually made it to be Super Bowl runner ups. While a second place finish was not what they wanted of course, they have built their team around young stars that will help this team win for years to come.
First is the team leader, captain, and everyone’s favorite quarterback, Joe Burrow. After a lackluster first season that was eventually cut short by a severe knee injury, he rallied the troops and turned this offense into one of the best in the NFL. His big arm and ability to get out of the pocket to extend the life of plays is just part of what makes him the outstanding young star he is. With coming back better than anyone could imagine after knee surgery, he earned himself the honor of Comeback Player of the Year and is poised for yet another great year with his partners in crime on the outside.
In last years draft, the bengals decided to not listen to everyone else and opted to take stud wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase with the fifth pick instead of helping the offensive line. The franchise got a lot of heat for the pick but little did anybody know just how right they got this draft pick. Reuniting Burrow and Chase from their college days, the duo had an immediate spark that carried over to the NFL field. In his rookie year, Chase was ranked fourth in receiving yards as well as second in receiving touchdowns. That also came off of being ranked only 22nd in receptions. From the first snap of his career he was electrifying, torching defenses as he looked to be the final piece this team needed to not only become an elite offense, but to make that long awaited playoff push.
The last part to the monster is my personal favorite and now third year wide receiver Tee Higgins. He had a very solid first year on a bad team even with his star QB missing almost half the year from injury. He then followed that up this past year with a great year even after missing three games due to an injury of his own. He compliments Chase perfectly as a guy who can line up anywhere from wideout to slot and always seemed to be open when Chase was not. A good route runner at 6’4 and that same height is what allows him to be one of the best downfield threats as well as 50/50 ball players in the league.