Analyst Ranks Cincinnati Bengals No. 1 in New Metric Measuring Teams' Outlooks Beyond Just 2025

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals have the seventh best betting odds to win Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, Calif., but one NFL analyst gives them the best shot of fighting for titles over each of the next couple of years.

Trapasso created what he calls the Long-Game Index that power ranks each team’s future outlook based on factors such as cap affordability, blue-chip players, future lineups and expectations and ascending players.

It’s part of the former CBS draft analyst’s recently launched Substack, TrapSheet, which is available for free.

Trapasso has the Bengals ranked fifth in his CASH metric, 10th in FLEX and four in ACE for an overall LGI score of 19.

That’s well ahead of the Nos. 2-4 teams on his list, each of whom has an LGI score of 28.

While ranking the Bengals with the best future outlook, Trapasso leads off his analysis with this:

“The Cincinnati Bengals are the No. 1 team in the first-ever Long-Term Index. They boast the NFL’s premier triplets — which today can certainly be QB-WR-WR — with Burrow, Chase, and Higgins. We all know that. And Burrow is undeniably elite, the most accurate, three-level thrower in the game whose quick release is only outpaced by how fast he deciphers coverage.”

Later, Trapasso asks the question Bengals fans have been asking for years:

“Ironically, there’s a caveat with this inaugural top billing — the Bengals are 5th in CASH. But does Mike Brown keep the team operating on its own, lower cap?”

To read Trapasso’s full assessment of the Bengals and his rankings of all 32 teams, click here.