Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) and wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) talk on the sideline in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 3 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. The Bengals beat the Rams, 19-16, improving to 1-2. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

ESPN Ranks Cincinnati Bengals Playmakers Among NFL's Top Groups

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Jul 8, 2025 11:59 AM ET

ESPN's Bill Barnwell released his NFL team playmaker rankings this week and Cincinnati checked in at No. 3 among the whole league.

Only Detroit and Philadelphia ranked higher than the Bengals.

"The only things holding the Bengals back are the hamstrings of Tee Higgins," Barnwell wrote. "A healthy Higgins might be the best second wideout in football, but he has missed 10 games over the past two seasons, primarily because of hamstring and quad issues. He still managed 911 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns last season -- a reminder of how he can make an impact even with Chase on the field -- but it's disheartening to see such a talented player battle repeated hamstring injuries.

"There's a big drop-off to the rest of the roster, unsurprisingly. Mike Gesicki had a bounce-back season and averaged 1.7 yards per route run as a 'tight end,' but he scored only twice and hasn't been able to turn his 6-foot-6 frame into any sort of red zone production. Andrei Iosivas racked up 479 yards and six scores, but that's a product of running 34 routes per game in an explosive offense. He ranked 91st out of 95 qualifying wideouts in yards per route run and finished 151st in receiver score."

Cincinnati has the mixture to end up the best offense in the NFL once all 17 games are wrapped in January. The big question is that wide receiver health and offensive-line competence.

If Scott Peters can coach the latter group up to a just below average or average level, then the path to offensive supremacy is much clearer. Check out Barnwell's full thoughts here.