The Cincinnati Bengals are all over the place in power rankings as free agency wraps up and the draft looms closer.
Some places like the Bengals as a top-two team.
Others hardly have them in the top five.
The biggest difference, it seems, stems from how each place views the losses of safeties Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates.
Amelia Probst of Pro Football Focus ranks the Bengals fifth:
The Bengals made another splash to protect QB Joe Burrow this year, signing Orlando Brown Jr. to a four-year, $64,092,000 contract. While the league has clearly made a statement that they don’t view Brown as an elite left tackle, Cincinnati gets great value on a very good player — Brown has five straight seasons with a pass-block grade of 73.5 or better and has played over 1,000 snaps in four straight years.
The biggest thing that lands the Bengals behind the Chiefs, 49ers, Eagles and Bills is indeed the loss of both starting safeties.
While it’s not going to be popular for fans to see the Bengals behind so many teams after a Super Bowl appearance and nearly making it again, PFF’s grading simply hasn’t liked Dax Hill or new arrival Nick Scott just yet.
Luckily for them, if Lou Anarumo’s system helps them get great results, the Bengals will force themselves back higher up the rankings.
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