ESPN has identified wide receiver as the primary roster gap for the Cincinnati Bengals.
ESPN enlisted DVOA expert Aaron Schatz to analyze the primary weakness of each of the 32 NFL teams, and for Cincinnati, he identifies wide receiver as the glaring deficiency.
This assessment revolves around the uncertainty surrounding Tee Higgins’ status for the 2024 season, with indications suggesting he will likely remain in Cincinnati if he intends to continue his NFL career this fall.
“Wide receiver is only a ‘hole’ for the Bengals because we still don’t know what will happen with franchise-tagged Tee Higgins and his trade request,” Schatz explained. “If Higgins stays in Cincinnati, the Bengals should have a reasonable group to fill out the wide receiver depth chart: third-round pick Jermaine Burton, the consistently underrated Trenton Irwin (who posted 110 and 83 receiving DYAR in the past two seasons), and promising second-year receiver Andrei Iosivas. However, any of these players would be stretched as a full-time starter opposite Ja’Marr Chase. If the Bengals bring Higgins back into the fold, the biggest hole might be cornerback depth, although a positional change for Dax Hill helps with that problem.”
It would indeed be surprising to witness the Bengals trade Higgins, particularly given the opportunity they had to trade him before the draft and utilize the additional 2024 draft picks to strengthen their roster for the upcoming season.
