CincinnatiBengals
Small market, expensive stars, no room at all for a bad decision. Ja'Marr Chase is the best receiver alive, Joe Burrow throws it like the game is straightforward, and Tee Higgins would be the number one almost anywhere else. Paycor under the lights is one of the better tickets going.
The fantasy roster, best rated first
Fantasy-relevant players only. Quarterbacks, backs, receivers and tight ends, which is what HexMetrics prices. 2 of them sit inside the league's top 25, 3 inside the top 50, 4 inside the top 100.
How roster strength is built: the seven slots behind 75.9
HexScore rates a player against others at his own position, so the seven below are not added up: each is weighted by what its slot is worth to an offence, and the weights are in the last column.
The case for the 2026 season
Four players in the top fifty, more than any club in football, and a tight end slot at 38.5
Cincinnati put 3 players inside the league's top 50, which is more than any other club, and still rate only 75.9 for roster strength, 16 of 32. Both of those are true and the second one is the story. Ja'Marr Chase rates 100.0, 3 of 457. The tight end slot rates 38.5 and carries 13% of the club figure, the same weight as the first running back. That is the constraint, and in this market the constraint is always the story.
The constraint, before the ambition
Run the seven slots and watch where it goes wrong. Quarterback 92.0, first receiver 100.0, second receiver 91.4, first back 98.1. Four starters inside the league's top 50 of 457 rated players. Then tight end 38.5, flex 31.9, second back 17.9.
Three of the seven places this club is counted are filled by players the model does not rate, and two of those three carry more weight than people assume. That is how a roster with four top-fifty players finishes 16 of 32. It is not a scoring quirk. It is the actual shape of the roster and it has been the actual shape of the roster for a while.
The passing game is not in question and has not been
Ja'Marr Chase at 100.0 and Tee Higgins at 91.4, both inside the top 50, with a quarterback at 92.0 throwing to them at a 0.67 pass rate and a tempo of 1.19 against a league average of one. Nobody in this city needs that explained.
I prefer a concentrated receiver room to a distributed one, because elite target shares survive bad weeks and committee rooms do not, and this is the most concentrated room in football by that standard. The pass efficiency reads 0.65, which is lower than the talent suggests, and that number is the one worth arguing about rather than the names.
Where the argument goes that I have been making for years
The line ranks 18 of 32. That is the middle, which in this market counts as unfamiliar territory rather than as good news. I believe pass protection is the most undervalued input in any offensive projection and I say it whether or not the numbers cooperate, so I will say the unhelpful version too: at 18 it is no longer the first thing I would fix.
The first thing I would fix is the tight end slot, and I want to be careful here because I have spent years being sceptical of tight-end usage as a fix for a line problem. This is the reverse case. The line is adequate and the tight end rates 38.5, with the profile calling tight-end usage low. A scheme that does not use the position and does not have one is consistent, and it is also nine rating places of roster strength left on the floor.
The defense, and the size of the claim
Pass defense ranks 28 of 32 and rush defense 30, both in the bottom five. The forward composite is kinder at 15. Team Power reads 60, 25 of 32, which is a long way below where the skill players sit and is almost entirely that defense. The value-weighted age is 27.2, 26 of 32, with 4.6% of the rated talent under twenty-five, so this is not a roster that improves by waiting.
The case, then, is a narrow and impatient one. Four top-fifty players is a genuine edge and nobody else in football has it. Strength of schedule ranks 17 of 32 counting easiest first and the bye is early in week 6. If the club scores enough to make a bottom-five defense irrelevant, this is a contender, and that is a sentence I would rather not have to write in August about a club with this much talent. The measurement is not on my side and I am not going to pretend it is.
The club record
71 players. Read from www.bengals.com on 2026-09-12. Not a HexMetrics rating: this is what the club publishes.
Coaching staff
25 coachesHead Coach
- Head CoachZac Taylor
Offensive Coaches
- Offensive CoordinatorDan Pitcher
- Tight Ends/Run Game CoordinatorJames Casey
- Running BacksJustin Hill
- Assistant Wide ReceiversDavis Koetter
- QuarterbacksBrad Kragthorpe
- Assistant Offensive LineMichael McCarthy
- Offensive LineScott Peters
- Pass Game CoordinatorJustin Rascati
- Assistant QuarterbacksJordan Salkin
- Wide ReceiversTroy Walters
Defensive Coaches
- Defensive CoordinatorAl Golden
- Senior Defensive AssistantSean Desai
- LinebackersMike Hodges
- Defensive Line/Run Game CoordinatorJerry Montgomery
- Assistant Defensive LineMike Moon
- Secondary/CornerbacksCharles Burks
- Secondary/SafetiesJordan Kovacs
- Assistant LinebackersRonnie Regula
Special Teams Coaches
- Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams CoordinatorDarrin Simmons
- Assistant Special TeamsBen Jacobs
Strength And Conditioning
- Director of Player Performance/Head Strength and ConditioningJoey Boese
- Assistant Strength and ConditioningDiamond Simmons
- Assistant Strength and ConditioningGarrett Swanson
Football Operations
- Chief of Coaching StaffDoug Rosfeld
Read from www.bengals.com on 2026-09-12.
Depth chart
Offense
- WR
- Ja'Marr Chase100.0
- Ke'Shawn Williams
- LOT
- Orlando Brown Jr.
- Javon Foster
- LG
- Dylan Fairchild
- Jalen Rivers
- C
- Ted Karras
- Connor Lew
- RG
- Dalton Risner
- Jacob Bayer
- ROT
- Amarius Mims
- Myles Hinton
- TE
- Drew Sample1.5
- Mike Gesicki38.5
- Erick All Jr.
- Jack Endries0.8
- WR
- Andrei Iosivas31.9
- Dohnte Meyers
- WR
- Tee Higgins91.4
- Colbie Young3.9
- QB
- Joe Burrow92.0
- Joe Flacco3.2
- HB
- Chase Brown98.1
- Samaje Perine17.9
- Tahj Brooks8.0
Defense
- LDE
- Myles Murphy
- Shemar Stewart
- Cedric Johnson
- DT
- Dexter Lawrence II
- T.J. Slaton Jr.
- DT
- Jonathan Allen
- B.J. Hill
- Kris Jenkins Jr.
- Landon Robinson
- RDE
- Boye Mafe
- Cashius Howell
- LB
- Barrett Carter
- Swayze Bozeman
- LB
- Demetrius Knight Jr.
- Oren Burks
- NCB
- Jalen Davis
- Josh Newton
- CB
- Dax Hill
- Tacario Davis
- CB
- DJ Turner II
- DJ Ivey
- S
- Bryan Cook
- PJ Jules
- S
- Jordan Battle
- Kyle Dugger
Special Teams
- P
- Ryan Rehkow
- K
- Evan McPherson
- LS
- William Wagner
- H
- Ryan Rehkow
- PR
- Dohnte Meyers
- Ke'Shawn Williams
- KOR
- Ke'Shawn Williams
- Dohnte Meyers
- Samaje Perine17.9
- Tahj Brooks8.0
Full roster
13 of 55 rated| # | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | Exp | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active53 | |||||||
| Offense | |||||||
| 9 | Joe BurrowRated | QB | 6-4 | 215 | 29 | 7 | LSU |
| 16 | Joe FlaccoRated | QB | 6-6 | 245 | 41 | 19 | Delaware |
| 25 | Tahj BrooksRated | HB | 5-9 | 220 | 24 | 2 | Texas Tech |
| 30 | Chase BrownRated | HB | 5-10 | 210 | 26 | 4 | Illinois |
| 34 | Samaje PerineRated | HB | 5-11 | 240 | 30 | 10 | Oklahoma |
| 1 | Ja'Marr ChaseRated | WR | 6-0 | 205 | 26 | 6 | LSU |
| 5 | Tee HigginsRated | WR | 6-4 | 220 | 27 | 7 | Clemson |
| 12 | Ke'Shawn Williams | WR | 5-9 | 189 | 24 | 2 | Indiana |
| 80 | Andrei IosivasRated | WR | 6-3 | 210 | 26 | 4 | Princeton |
| 81 | Dohnte Meyers | WR | 5-11 | 186 | 26 | 1 | Delta State University |
| 86 | Colbie YoungRated | WR | 6-4 | 218 | 24 | R | Georgia |
| 83 | Erick All Jr. | TE | 6-5 | 255 | 26 | 3 | Iowa |
| 84 | Jack EndriesRated | TE | 6-5 | 245 | 22 | R | Texas |
| 88 | Mike GesickiRated | TE | 6-6 | 245 | 30 | 9 | Penn State |
| 89 | Drew SampleRated | TE | 6-5 | 260 | 30 | 8 | Washington |
| 71 | Amarius Mims | OT | 6-8 | 350 | 23 | 3 | Georgia |
| 73 | Javon Foster | OT | 6-5 | 319 | 26 | 2 | Missouri |
| 75 | Orlando Brown Jr. | OT | 6-8 | 350 | 30 | 9 | Oklahoma |
| 77 | Myles Hinton | OT | 6-6 | 342 | 24 | 2 | Michigan |
| 63 | Dylan Fairchild | G | 6-5 | 318 | 23 | 2 | Georgia |
| 66 | Dalton Risner | G | 6-5 | 312 | 31 | 8 | Kansas State |
| 74 | Jalen Rivers | G | 6-5 | 319 | 24 | 2 | Miami |
| 64 | Ted Karras | C | 6-4 | 310 | 33 | 11 | Illinois |
| 65 | Connor Lew | C | 6-4 | 310 | 21 | R | Auburn |
| 69 | Jacob Bayer | C | 6-3 | 310 | 23 | 1 | Arkansas State |
| Defense | |||||||
| 52 | Cedric Johnson | DE | 6-3 | 264 | 24 | 3 | Mississippi |
| 53 | Boye Mafe | DE | 6-4 | 265 | 27 | 5 | Minnesota |
| 55 | Cashius Howell | DE | 6-3 | 255 | 23 | R | Texas A&M |
| 94 | Shemar Stewart | DE | 6-5 | 267 | 22 | 2 | Texas A&M |
| 99 | Myles Murphy | DE | 6-5 | 275 | 24 | 4 | Clemson |
| 90 | Kris Jenkins Jr. | DT | 6-3 | 310 | 24 | 3 | Michigan |
| 92 | B.J. Hill | DT | 6-3 | 311 | 31 | 9 | NC State |
| 93 | Jonathan Allen | DT | 6-3 | 300 | 31 | 10 | Alabama |
| 96 | Landon Robinson | DT | 6-0 | 295 | 23 | R | Navy |
| 97 | Dexter Lawrence II | DT | 6-5 | 350 | 28 | 8 | Clemson |
| 98 | T.J. Slaton Jr. | DT | 6-5 | 340 | 28 | 6 | Florida |
| 42 | Oren Burks | LB | 6-3 | 233 | 31 | 9 | Vanderbilt |
| 44 | Demetrius Knight Jr. | LB | 6-2 | 240 | 26 | 2 | South Carolina |
| 47 | Swayze Bozeman | LB | 6-2 | 225 | 27 | 2 | Southern Mississippi |
| 49 | Barrett Carter | LB | 6-0 | 231 | 23 | 2 | Clemson |
| 0 | DJ Turner II | CB | 5-11 | 185 | 25 | 4 | Michigan |
| 20 | Tacario Davis | CB | 6-4 | 194 | 22 | R | Washington |
| 23 | Dax Hill | CB | 6-0 | 195 | 25 | 5 | Michigan |
| 28 | Josh Newton | CB | 5-11 | 190 | 25 | 3 | TCU |
| 35 | Jalen Davis | CB | 5-10 | 186 | 30 | 6 | Utah State |
| 38 | DJ Ivey | CB | 6-1 | 192 | 26 | 4 | Miami |
| 6 | Bryan Cook | S | 6-1 | 210 | 27 | 5 | Cincinnati |
| 27 | Jordan Battle | S | 6-1 | 215 | 25 | 4 | Alabama |
| 29 | Kyle Dugger | S | 6-1 | 216 | 30 | 7 | Lenoir Rhyne |
| 37 | PJ Jules | S | 6-0 | 203 | 25 | 2 | Southern Illinois |
| Special teams | |||||||
| 2 | Evan McPhersonRated | K | 5-11 | 185 | 27 | 6 | Florida |
| 8 | Ryan Rehkow | P | 6-4 | 235 | 28 | 3 | BYU |
| 46 | William Wagner | LS | 6-2 | 240 | 25 | 2 | Michigan |
| Reserve/Injured2 | |||||||
| 62 | Brian Parker II | G | 6-5 | 310 | 22 | R | Duke |
| 26 | Ja'Sir Taylor | CB | 5-11 | 185 | 27 | 5 | Wake Forest |
Practice squad
1 of 16 rated| # | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | Exp | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice Squad16 | |||||||
| Offense | |||||||
| 4 | Sean Clifford | QB | 6-2 | 212 | 28 | 2 | Penn State |
| 11 | Josh Johnson | QB | 6-3 | 219 | 40 | 14 | San Diego |
| 31 | Kentrel Bullock | HB | 5-10 | 204 | 24 | R | South Alabama |
| 36 | Kendall Milton | HB | 6-1 | 230 | 24 | 1 | Georgia |
| 14 | Jordan Moore | WR | 6-0 | 191 | 24 | 1 | Duke |
| 17 | Noah ThomasRated | WR | 6-5 | 203 | 22 | R | Georgia |
| 87 | Tanner Hudson | TE | 6-5 | 241 | 31 | 7 | Southern Arkansas |
| 76 | Blake Freeland | OT | 6-8 | 305 | 25 | 4 | BYU |
| Defense | |||||||
| 51 | Isaiah Foskey | DE | 6-5 | 280 | 25 | 4 | Notre Dame |
| 56 | Garmon Randolph | DE | 6-8 | 260 | 25 | 1 | Baylor |
| 95 | Howard Cross III | DT | 6-1 | 285 | 25 | 2 | Notre Dame |
| 43 | Joe Giles-Harris | LB | 6-2 | 234 | 29 | 3 | Duke |
| 50 | Shaka Heyward | LB | 6-3 | 238 | 26 | 3 | Duke |
| 21 | Bralyn Lux | CB | 5-10 | 180 | 26 | 1 | Texas Tech |
| 24 | Trikweze Bridges | CB | 6-2 | 200 | 25 | 2 | Florida |
| 39 | Russ Yeast | S | 5-10 | 195 | 27 | 3 | Kansas State |
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