Welcome to the 2020 Fantasy Football Cincinnati Bengals Preview. Later we will be breaking down the Bengals players outlook for the 2020 season.
First things first though the Bengals in 2019 were absolutely abysmal. Andy Dalton’s career took a nosedive and at what point lost the job to Ryan Finley. Dalton snatched the job back but was unimpressive to say the least. Star wideout AJ Green was on the injured list for the whole year putting the team in even more trouble. The offensive line is a mess, last year's first-round pick Jonah Williams was also injured all year, and the defense was vacant of playmakers.
The 2020 Bengals have improved the rest of their offense significantly including the most important position QB by drafting LSU QB Joe Burrow. Bengals drafted Clemson receiver Tee Higgins in the second round to add even more to the already talented receiver corp.
Will Joe Burrow excel with the insane amount of weapons he has? Or will the offensive line let him down, along with the defense? Let's get to the fantasy aspect of the 2020 Fantasy Football Cincinnati Bengals Team Preview.
2020 Fantasy Football Cincinnati Bengals Preview
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Quarterbacks
- Joe Burrow
- Ryan Finley
There is a changing of the guard at QB in 2020 for the Bengals. Dalton is now in Dallas, and the Bengals have number one draft pick Joe Burrow, who may have had the most historic season in college football history. Burrow is a National Champion as he threw for 60 touchdowns(NCAA record) and only six interceptions on the year. He also now holds the record for passer rating in college with a 202 which is an absolutely high mark.
As for fantasy, Burrow is currently being ranked as QB20 according to FantasyPros. With the amount of weapons Burrow has I believe he has a shot at legitimately cracking the top ten in fantasy quarterbacks, but more than likely he will end up anywhere in the QB2 range(13-25). He is definitely worth a draft pick, but don’t reach for him. If you can get him with a late-round pick you might have just got a massive steal in your fantasy draft.
As for Ryan Finley, I wouldn’t worry about him or even think about him. If Burrow goes down and Finley takes over I still don’t see him making any impact in fantasy football.
Running Backs
- Joe Mixon
- Gio Bernard
- Trayveon Williams
- Rodney Anderson
- Samaje Perine
The running back core is led by star Joe Mixon who led the AFC in rushing yards in 2018 with 1,168 yards and eight touchdowns and in 2019 he had 1,138 yards and five touchdowns.
Mixon was RB9 in 2018, so coming into 2019 there was hope that Mixon would cement himself as a top-five running back at the most. At the very least they were hoping for a top ten at running back. The mixonator as some call him would end up disappointing most fantasy owners who picked him in the first round. He ended up as RB13 but it was a very boom or bust season for him.
With the addition of QB Burrow and knack for producing in the passing game, I think Mixon could end up being a top ten running back easily so don’t be scared to draft him in the late first round, early second. If you can snatch him up in the third round consider yourself lucky.
As for Gio Bernard, he doesn’t provide much fantasy value at all. Last year he was RB71, and for 2020 he is RB58 according to FantasyPros. If Mixon gets injured I would immediately pick up Gio Bernard because he is a pass-catching specialist and I don’t see any of the other three running backs taking many touches from him. Rodney Anderson, Trayveon Williams, and Samaje Perine do not have draftable value, so don’t do it.
Wide Receivers
- AJ Green
- Tyler Boyd
- John Ross
- Tee Higgins
- Auden Tate
In 2019 the Wide Receiver core was led by Tyler Boyd who enjoyed a career year catching 90 balls for 1,046 yards and five touchdowns. In terms of fantasy, he was WR23 according to FantasyPros which is good enough for a WR2. Since AJ Green is coming back, and Tee Higgins being drafted I think for 2020 he won’t live up to where he is currently being drafted(WR31). Think about drafting him as your WR3 on your team and hope for the best.
Tee Higgins was a star at Clemson catching 59 balls for 1167 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2019. The year before he had 59 catches for 936 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is a very productive red zone threat, and also a deep threat considering he averaged 18.1 yards per reception in his college career.
As of right now, Higgins is being ranked as the WR77 according to FantasyPros. Based off this I believe he can be an absolute steal. If you are super confident with him like I am, I would be using one of my last few picks on him. Don't overlook Tee Higgins
John Ross ended up with 28 catches for 506 yards(18.1) and three touchdowns throughout 2019. He is currently ranked as WR72. I expect him to end up around that range, so I wouldn’t really think about drafting him at all.
As for Auden Tate, he is probably coming into the 2020 season as the fifth receiver, so I don’t see much fantasy value there. Avoid drafting him as well.
AJ Green missed all of 2019 with a foot injury, ass of right now it’s all systems go for AJ and he should be able to thrive with Joe Burrow at QB.
He is currently ranked WR28. I think that is low for a star receiver like AJ, I'm more leaning towards him being a borderline WR1.
According to FantasyPros, these are Green’s final placement for receivers.
| Year | Games Played | WR Rank | FPPG(Fantasy Points Per Game) According to FantasyPros | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2018 | 9 | WR 40 | 14 FPPG | Top-12 WR in average |
| 2017 | 16 | WR 11 | 11.8 FPPG | |
| 2016 | 10 | WR 34 | 15.3 FPPG | Fifth highest average among WR's |
| 2015 | 16 | WR 7 | 14.4 FPPG |
As you can see if AJ Green can stay healthy he is easily a WR1, so do not be afraid to draft him this year.
Tight Ends
- CJ Uzomah
- Drew Sample
CJ Uzomah is now the main tight end in Cincy now that Eifert left, and he is leaving quite a few targets behind. Even with those vacated targets I just don’t see much fantasy value in CJ at all this year.
According to Pro Football Reference, the tight ends left on this team only caught 32 balls for 370 yards, although with Burrow as a starter there could be a case for picking up CJ Uzomah off waivers if he starts producing week in and week out.
As of right now, I would not draft Uzomah, same goes with Drew Sample.
Final Verdict
As you can see there are a lot of question marks surrounding this team and their fantasy value. For the offense to produce the offensive line needs to give Burow time to throw the ball. He has the weapons to put up big numbers and help his position players become solid fantasy players.
The Bengals are very hit and miss. Burrow has the ability to be a top ten quarterback or he can stumble finishing near the QB20 range, Joe Mixon has a legitimate shot at being a top-five running back this year or he can end up as a RB2 or lower like last year, and as for the wideouts AJ Green can vault himself back to WR1 territory, and Boyd has a shot to be a productive WR2 or WR3 but with so many mouths to feed it could backfire.
They got the weapons, let's hope it all turns out for them.
Visit the F6P Fantasy Football page for more advice to get you prepared for the 2020 season.
| AFC East | AFC North | AFC South | AFC West |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | Ravens | Texans | Broncos |
| Dolphins | Bengals | Colts | Chiefs |
| Jets | Browns | Jaguars | Chargers |
| Patriots | Steelers | Titans | Raiders |
| NFC East | NFC North | NFC South | NFC West |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | Bears | Falcons | Cardinals |
| Eagles | Lions | Panthers | Rams |
| Giants | Packers | Saints | 49ers |
| Washington | Vikings | Buccaneers | Seahawks |
