The Cincinnati Bengals features players at multiple positions that totaled respectable fantasy-point totals last season.
Aside from wide receiver A.J. Green’s top-four rated 202.80 points, running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis went for 151.80 and quarterback Andy Dalton ranked in the top seven with 27 touchdown passes.
Jermaine Gresham added 737 yards receiving, five touchdowns and 101.70 fantasy points. He qualified just outside of the top ranks at No. 11 among NFL tight ends.
Heading into the 2013 campaign, a notable collection of offseason additions have this Bengals squad looking like the premier team in the AFC North.
Will that translate into the world of fantasy and raise the production of existing players? Let’s find out.
Andy Dalton, Quarterback
The Bengals’ second-round pick from 2011 is constantly told that he can always do more.
But he has done nothing but increase his statistical production from Year 1 to Year 2.
Dalton completed four percent more of his passes (58.1 to 62.3), threw for nearly 300 more yards, upped his average yards per pass, registered seven more touchdown passes and elevated his passer rating to 87.4. He even ran for three more scores from the year before.
The red-headed gunslinger will keep trending in rising fantasy point total in 2013. He now has a one-two punch at running back with Green-Ellis and newcomer Giovani Bernard, a healthy Mohamed Sanu and more developed Marvin Jones at wide receiver and, most importantly, a top-notch dual tight end corps with Gresham and Eifert.
Cincinnati’s offensive line is sufficiently stout across the board as well.
One way or another, Dalton doesn’t have any excuses for not raising his game to the next level.
Projected Statistics: 4,011 yards, 30 touchdowns, 15 interceptions
A.J. Green, Wide Receiver
Please make your acquaintance with Dalton’s No. 1 target and a player that will follow a similar career projection as the man throwing him the ball.
Green tallied 97 receptions for 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2012. Those totals, coupled with his 61 first-down catches all qualified as impressive upgrades.
The smooth-striding, 6’4’’, 207-pound former Bulldog will only get better in his third NFL campaign. Cincinnati features considerable more offensive firepower and a balanced overall offense. He simply won’t require 160-plus targets to rack up more fantasy points with Bernard, healthy complementary wideouts and especially Eifert as another viable downfield threat.
No. 18 will receive ample more red-zone opportunities as a result.
Watch for Green to maintain his WR1, top-five status in 2013.
Projected Statistics: 80 receptions, 1,380 yards, 14 touchdowns
Jermaine Gresham, Tight End
The Bengals’ leading tight end will retain his spot as a quality receiving option.
Gresham, like Dalton and Green before him, produced career-highs in nearly every category. His receptions, yards, average and first-down totals all fattened themselves up statistically from the previous year. He also grabbed a career-long 55-yard pass and maintained his seasonal average of five touchdowns.
While not an accomplished pass-blocker, contributor in run support or non-penalty committing tight end, Gresham is still productive in the fantasy department. His rookie counterpart may direct more throws his way. But the three-year vet will still outshine Eifert by season’s end.
Let the NFL proliferation of dynamic tight-end duos continue.
Projected Statistics: 58 receptions, 702 yards, 6 touchdowns
BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Running Back
The Law Firm-bearing Cincinnati running back recorded three consecutive 100-yard games (four overall) and his second-career 1,000-yard season during his first year with the Bengals.
We just wouldn’t recommend expecting that from him in Year 2.
Green-Ellis is the prototypical between-the-tackles grinder at running back. He hammers out the ugly—but necessary—yards and throws in a few touchdowns. He just won’t ever make game-breaking plays or serve as a reliable weapon in the passing game.
First-year RB Bernard will receive a fair amount of touches out of the backfield. Green-Ellis won’t eclipse the 1,000-yard mark as a result.
Peg him as a late-round security pickup in your fantasy league.
Projected Statistics: 790 rushing yards, 10 receptions, 48 yards, 4 total touchdowns
Thoughts on Rookie Additions
Outside of Tavon Austin, Tyler Eifert should materialize as the leading high-round offensive weapon taken in the 2013 draft. The Bengals’ lauded new tight end has the skill set and versatility to become a dynamic threat all over the gridiron for quarterback Andy Dalton. Expect a few hundred yards and multiple touchdowns from the speedy 6’5’’ TE.
Giovani Bernard emerged from his year’s draft class as the best receiving option at running back. He totaled an eye-catching 47 receptions for 490 yards and four touchdowns during his final year at North Carolina. We anticipate similarly productive numbers during his first season in the pros. Dalton finally has a useful target out of the backfield.
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