Cincinnati Bengals Offensive Trio Ranked Outside NFL's Top 5 Groups Ahead of 2026 Season

Is this too low?

Dec 9, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) smashes a donut on the face of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) after the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame broke down the NFL's offensive triplet hierarchy in a 1-32 ranking this week. He had the Bengals trio outside the top five, sitting at No. 6 overall with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Chase Brown.

The top five went in this order: Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys.

Outside The Top 5

Dec 21, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) hands off the ball to Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) during the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Cincinnati arguably has the best passer and receiver in the NFL, but wasn't in that top group.

"Cincinnati is going to score points, and Chase is going to play at an All-Pro level," Verderame wrote. "This has been true for every year of his career, which has seen him rack up more than 6,800 yards in five seasons. In Brown, the Bengals have a tough runner who has averaged more than 1,000 rushing yards over the past two years. Of course, the question is Burrow, who won the passing title in 2024, but has played only 18 games in the two bookend years. If he’s on the field, Cincinnati’s offense will be elite."

Burrow's health seems to be the biggest thing holding this ranking back from being much higher.

Vaulting Baltimore higher than Cincinnati left the Bengals second in their division among this crop of offensive trios. Verderame has Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers as a better trio than Burrow, Chase, and Brown.

"The Ravens aren’t in the top spot anymore, but they didn’t fall far," Verderame wrote. "Despite Jackson missing a month with a hamstring pull last year, he remains one of the elite quarterbacks in the game. Then there’s Henry, who in his age-31 season ran for 1,595 yards and 16 touchdowns on 5.2 YPC. On the perimeter, Flowers had 86 catches for 1,211 yards, even without someone helping to pull coverage off him. The Ravens have depth concerns, but not a lack of top-end talent."

Flowers has not outplayed Chase in any single season since entering the league in 2023, and has 40 fewer career touchdown catches after entering the league in 2023 (Chase started his NFL career in 2021).

Check out the full comparison between the two here via Pro Football reference and Verderame's ranking here.

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