2023: Pre-Season Rank: Unranked.  Peak Period 2019-23.

Trey Hendrickson came into his own in his last season in New Orleans (2020) with a 13.5 Sack/12 TFL year, but his three seasons in Cincinnati landed him on this list.  Hendrickson is now a three-time Pro Bowl Selection and has recorded 39.5 Sacks as a Bengal, which includes 17 last year.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Cincinnati Bengals.

As for all of our top 50 players in football, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Bengals were unable to make the playoffs, though did have a winning record (9-8).  2023 still saw four new names enter the Top 50 with two elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Anthony Munoz
2. Ken Anderson
3. Geno Atkins
4. Ken Riley
5. Boomer Esiason 

You can find the entire list here.

Running Back Joe Mixon, now with the Houston Texans, moved up from #35 to #30.

Quarterback Joe Burrow advanced to #36 from #48.

The four new entries are:

Wide Receiver Tyler Boyd, now a Tennessee Titan, enters at #43.

Linebacker Germaine Pratt debuts at #44.

Three-time Pro Bowler (in only three years) Wide Receiver Ja’Marr Chase comes in at #49.

The last entry is defensive end Trey Hendrickson, another three-time Pro Bowler (again, in only three seasons).

Offensive Lineman Rich Braham, Wide Receiver Darnay Scott, Defensive End Michael Johnson, and Defensive Tackle Mike Reid fell off the Top 50.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Trey Hendrickson, the 2016 Conference-USA Defensive Player of the Year, was drafted in the Third Round from Florida Atlantic by the New Orleans Saints, but when he signed with the Bengals in 2021 was when he became a star in the NFL.

As of this writing, Hendrickson has played excellent pass-rushing football for the Bengals, accumulating 39.5 Sacks and 34 Tackles for Loss in his three years in Southern Ohio.  He was named to the Pro Bowl in all three of his Bengals campaigns and is entering 2024 looking to add a fourth.

Reunited, and it feels so good.

A year after Ja’Marr Chase won the NCAA National Championship at LSU with Joe Burrow, he was drafted fifth overall by the Cincinnati Bengals, where Burrow was drafted the year before.

Chase has delivered, earning Pro Bowls in all three seasons with 3,717 Yards and 29 Touchdowns.  Winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year, Chase is a sight to behold on the gridiron.  An excellent route-runner and a contortionist when he needs to be with power despite his smallish size, the Burrow/Chase combo has already been to a Super Bowl and could do so again.

The future remains bright for Ja’Marr Chase.

As of this writing, Germaine Pratt has played the entirety of his five-year career with the Cincinnati Bengals, the team that drafted him from NC State in 2019’s Third Round.

Pratt won the starting Linebacker job midway through his rookie year and emerged as one of their better run defenders.  Year by year, Pratt has been increasing his tackling metrics, and last year, he broke out with 118 Tackles.

Entering 2024, Pratt is their secret weapon on defense and is closing in on 500 career Tackles.

Tyler Boyd played his first eight seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, arriving in 2016 as a Second Round Pick from the University of Pittsburgh.

Boyd did not have many touches in his first two years (76 combined receptions) but settled in as a productive WR 2 over his last six years in the jungle.  He had over 1,000 Yards in both 2018 and 2019, and over his eight years, he had an even 6,000 Yards with 31 TDs for Cincinnati.

He departed Cincinnati for Tennessee via free agency.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that Corey Dillon and Tim Krumrie have been chosen for the Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor.

The Bengals were late to the dance in the creation of a Ring of Honor, but have made up for lost time with the past announcements of Ken Anderson, Paul Brown, Isaac Curtis, Boomer Esiason, Chad Johnson, Anthony Munoz and Ken Riley to their Ring.

Corey Dillon, Running Back, 1997-2003.  The dynamic Running Back rushed for 8,061 Yards and 45 Touchdowns for the Bengals, while adding 1,482 Yards and 5 TDs from the air.  Dillon was a three-time Pro Bowl Selection.  He still holds the three top single-game rushing games in franchise history

Tim Krumrie, Nose Tackle-Defensive Tackle, 1983-94.  Krumrie played his entire career with the Bengals where the Nose Tackle was a two-time Pro Bowl and one-time First Team All-Pro.  He had 1,017 Tackles and 34.5 Sacks in the Jungle.

Dillon and Krumrie will be officially inducted at Cincinnati’s home game against the Washington Commanders on September 23^rd.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will look at how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the Cincinnati Bengals have announced the nominees for their Ring of Honor.

Here are the nominees:

Jim Breech, Place Kicker: 1980-92.

Breech is the all-time leading scorer in franchise history and was the first kicker to have two 40-yard Field Goals in the Super Bowl.

James Brooks, Running Back: 1984-91.

In the years Brooks played for the Bengals, only Marcus Allen, Eric Dickerson, and Roger Craig had more Yards from Scrimmage (9,459). He was a four-time Pro Bowl Selection and had 64 Touchdowns for the club.

Cris Collinsworth, Wide Receiver: 1981-88.

Collinsworth was the runner-up for the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1981 and was a Pro Bowl and Second Team All-Pro in his first three seasons.  He exceeded 1,000 Yards four times and had 6,698 Receiving Yards and 26 TDs.

Corey Dillon, Running Back, 1997-2003.

Dillon was a three-time Pro Bowl Selection who rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first six seasons, 8,061 in total for the Bengals. He is Cincinnati’s all-time leading rusher and also had 89 Touchdowns (82 rushing, 7 receiving) for the Bengals.

David Fulcher, Safety, 1986-92.

Fulcher went to three straight Pro Bowls (1988-90) and was a First-Team All-Pro in 1989. Over his career, he recorded 31 Interceptions and 8.5 Sacks.

Tim Krumrie, Nose Tackle, 1983-94.

Krumrie was twice named to the Pro Bowl.  In 1988, he was a First-Team All-Pro and was seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Playing his 12-year career in Cincinnati, Krumrie accumulated 1,017 Tackles and 34.5 Sacks.

Dave Lapham, Offensive Guard, 1974-83.

Lapham started 105 of his 140 Games and, following his playing career, would join the Bengals broadcasting team.

Max Montoya, Offensive Guard, 1979-92.

Montoya was a member of the Bengals’ first two AFC Championship teams, and three of his four Pro Bowls were in Cincinnati.

Bob Trumpy, Tight End, 1968-77.

Trumpy is the only player in team history to be named an AFL All-Star and to the Pro Bowl.  A First Team All-Pro in 1969 when he had a career-high 835 Yards and 9 Touchdowns, he tallied 4,600 Yards and 35 TDs.

Reggie Williams, Linebacker, 1976-89.

Williams played all of his 206 NFL Games with the Bengals where he had 63.5 Sacks.  He also won the Alan Page Community Award in 1984 and the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 1988.

You can vote for who you think should enter the Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor here.

Kevin Huber was a two-time All-American Punter at the University of Cincinnati and was so good that he was one of the few Punters who was drafted (5^th Round).  Even better, the team that drafted him was his hometown Bengals, where he played all of his 14 NFL seasons. 

A Pro Bowl Selection in 2014, Huber played in 216 Games, punting for 45,766 Yards.  He finished in the top ten in Punting Yards six times and Yards per Punt three times, and at the time of his retirement, he was in the top thirty all-time in Punts, Punting Yards and Yards per Punt.

A.J. Green, who was drafted from the University of Georgia, was the first wide receiver picked in the 2011 Draft. He played a long and successful career with the Cincinnati Bengals.

In his rookie year, Green was an All-Rookie and made the Pro Bowl after recording 1,057 yards and 7 touchdowns. He followed that up with two consecutive Second Team All-Pro honors, scoring 11 touchdowns each year and recording yardage outputs of 1,350 and 1,426, respectively. Although Green was on the verge of becoming an elite wide receiver, this was as close as he got.

Despite this, Green continued to perform well over the next four seasons (2014-17), earning a spot on the Pro Bowl roster and bringing his total to seven. Unfortunately, a toe injury limited him to just nine games in 2018, and he suffered a torn ligament in 2019 training camp, which kept him out for the entire season. Green returned in 2020, but had his lowest output with only 523 yards. That season proved to be his last with Cincinnati.

Green finished his career with two seasons in Arizona, where he recorded almost 1,110 yards and five touchdowns. In total, Green recorded 10,514 yards and 70 touchdowns, which are impressive numbers, but not enough to secure him a place in the Hall of Fame in this era.

Geno Atkins, who had a dominant run at the University of Georgia, was considered small for a Defensive Tackle and fell to the fourth round in the 2010 Draft. However, this turned out to be a steal for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Atkins began his career as a bench player, but he started at Right Defensive Tackle in his second year and held that position until 2019. His quick jump off the snap was unmatched, and he established himself as an excellent edge creator. His speed was impressive, as he was often seen chasing down runners. Atkins was named to eight Pro Bowls with Cincinnati and was a First Team All-Pro in 2012 and 2015. It is worth noting that Atkins achieved all this without much support in the Jungle.

After the 2019 Season, Atkins was named to the All-Decade Team, but he underwent major shoulder surgery and was only able to play eight games in 2020, recording only one tackle. Unfortunately, this ended his career in the NFL, which had been a very successful one, with 75.5 sacks, 100 tackles for loss, and 384 combined tackles.

2022: Pre-Season Rank: #126. Peak Period: 2020-23*

Joe Burrow led LSU to the National Championship in 2019 and individually won the Heisman Trophy. Taken number one in the draft, Burrow brought the Bengals closer than they have ever been to winning their first Super Bowl. Burrow is one of the best in the game, is in his mid-20s and could be the man who takes Cincinnati to a Lombardi Trophy providing he is healthy unlike last year's campaign..

*Burrow has only played four seasons.

2022: Pre-Season Rank: Unranked

Orlando Brown begins 2023 with his third team, Cincinnati, and let’s see if he goes three-for-three in productive campaigns for NFL teams. Twice a Pro Bowler with Baltimore and Kansas City, Brown won a Super Bowl Ring last year and boasts a four-year streak of Pro Bowls and Approimate Value of at least 12.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022 revision of our top 50 Cincinnati Bengals.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following:

1. Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Bengals made it to their second straight AFC Championship Game, though could not make their second consecutive Super Bowl. 2022 brought us one new entrant and one elevation.

As always, we present our top five, which had no changes.

1. Anthony Munoz

2. Ken Anderson

3. Geno Atkins

4. Ken Riley

5. Boomer Esiason

You can find the entire list here.

Running Back, Joe Mixon went up ten spots to #35.

The lone new entrant is Quarterback, Joe Burrow, who debuts at #48.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

There are two distinct images for us with Joe Burrow in 2020.

The first is the QB leading LSU to a National Championship, which he punctuated with a celebratory stogie.

The second was in his parent’s humble home, where he was drafted #1 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Burrow felt like a a special player right away, and this was despite the cautiousness of the Bengals faithful who have dealt with a lot of suffering from disappoint Quarterbacks. Burrow only won two Games as a rookie, and was injured with a torn ACL and PCL during it. This still did not make it a bust year for Burrow, who showed why he was taken number one.

Bouncing back in 2021, Burrow won the AP Comeback Player of the Year, throwing for 4,611 Yards, 34 Touchdowns and an NFL-leading 70.4 Pass Completion Percentage. Burrow led the Bengals to their third Super Bowl appearance, and though they did not win, it was their best performance to date.

Burrow had another great year in 2022 (4,475 Yards & 35 TD) where he hdded a Pro Bowl and took Cincinnati to the AFC Conference Game.  The QB ronly appeared in 10 Games in 2023 due to injury, though was very good when healthy 

Going into 2024, the Bengals have a top-five Quarterback and a man who can give them their first title, especially if he remains healthy.

The Cincinnati Bengals did not begin their Ring of Honor until two years ago, and like any such institution, there is debate as to who should enter. Former Bengal, Corey Dillon, sounded off to the Athletic, that the process is flawed.

Dillon played for the Bengals from 1997 to 2003, where he exceeded 1,000 Yards Rushing in the first six of them. A Pro Bowler three seasons in a row (1999-01), Dillon is the all-time rushing leader in Cincinnati with 8,061 Yards, but his end with the Bengals was acrimonious as he sought a trade after the 2003 Season. His wish was granted, and he was dealt to New England and would win his only Super Bowl.

Dillon was not chosen for the Bengals Ring of Honor, which added Willie Anderson and Isaac Curtis, and he believes that his departure led to the voters (which are all season ticket holders) snubbing him. His words were not filtered, calling it “criminal” that he was omitted and that it was not a “popularity contest”.

“Bengals are smart. I give it to them. We will put it in the hands of the season-ticket holders, so they don't have to take that backlash over who the voters are picking. That's bullshit. The shit should come straight from the team. Half these season-ticket holder people never seen half of us play."

He also joked that Jon Kitna (former Quarterback), will get in before him.

While Dillon is Ring of Honor worthy, we would not be surprised if his words will keep him out.

Vontaze Burfict was once tabbed as a First Round Pick when he was at Arizona State, but a poor attitude and an even weaker combine resulted in all 32 teams passing on the Linebacker in the 2012 Draft.  The Bengals signed him as an undrafted player, and that polarizing aura that he had as a Sun Devil followed him as a Bengal.

Burfict made the Bengals and was the starting Right Linebacker in the third game of his pro career.  He would record 127 Combined Tackles as a rookie, and in his second season, Burfict went to the Pro Bowl in a season where he led the NFL in Combined Tackles (171).  The first two seasons of Burfict's career were good, but the history of his poor temperament would rear its ugly head.

In 2014, a concussion cost him time, and he was fined continuously for illegal hits.  He appeared in more games in 2015 and had a good year, but he is mostly known for delivering a blow to Antonio Brown late in the AFC Wild Card Game when the Wide Receiver was considered defenseless.  An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty followed this penalty by Adam Jones, and the 30 combined yards led to a successful Field Goal attempt by the Steelers who won the game.

Burfict remained a dynamic linebacker for the Bengals over the next three seasons, but he never came close to a full season due to suspensions.  He was released after the 2018 Season, and joined Oakland, but he was again suspended, this time for a helmet-to-helmet hit in the fourth week.  Due to his past infractions, he was suspended for the rest of the season, and he never played in the NFL again.

While his career was riddled with controversies, when he was on, few Linebackers could touch him.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post-2021 revision of our top 50 Cincinnati Bengals.

As for all of our top 50 players in football, we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Cincinnati Bengals won their third AFC Championship, but again fell to a California-based team in the Super Bowl, as they lost to the Los Angeles Rams. Despite the potency of the team, the key players are all very young, and it only yielded one new entrant, and no other movement within the Top 50.

As always, we present our top five:

1. Anthony Munoz

2. Ken Anderson

3. Geno Atkins

4. Ken Riley

5. Boomer Esiason

You can find the entire list here.

The lone new entrant is Running Back, Joe Mixon, who went to his first Pro Bowl last season.  He debuts at #50.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Joe Mixon was a beast of a Running Back at the University of Oklahoma, though off-field issues likely cost him on Draft Day, where he fell to the Second Round of the 2017 Draft, landing with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mixon was decent as a rookie (628 Rushing Yards, 4 TDs), but he made his expected move to a higher echelon of RBs, as a sophomore, breaking 1,100 Rushing Yards, and doing so again in 2019.  An injury held Mixon to only six Games in 2020, but last season Mixon had a personal best 1,205 Rushing Yards, with 13 Touchdowns on the ground.  He was rewarded with his first Pro Bowl, and was instrumental in the Bengals march to a Super Bowl appearance.  In 2002, Mixon again exceeded 1,000 Yards From Scrimmage.

Mixon's 2023 would be his last as a Bengal, and he departed Southern Ohio with his fourth 1,000-Yard year.  He was traded to the Houston Texans in a cost-cutting move after, and compiled 8,551 Yards From Scrimmage and 62 Touchdowns for Cincinnati

2023 Pre-Season Rank: #144, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #144. Peak Period: 2021-23*

A Pro Bowl in all three of his NFL seasons, Ja’Marr Chase was the 2021 Consensus Offensive Rookie of the Year and is a possible league WR1 going into 2024.  Chase might have to carry a more significant load with the departure of Running Back Joe Mixon, but Chase can set personal bests this year.  Many predict it.

*Chase has only played three years.