The 2021 NFL season may barely be in the books, but Dave Richard is already getting a jump on his 2022 preparation by highlighting at least one key statistic to know for each NFL team that had a major bearing on their 2021 performance and could mean a great deal for their 2022 outlook. In this space, Dave dives into the Cincinnati Bengals.
More Early Prep (AFC): BAL | BUF | CIN | CLE | DEN | TEN | HOU | IND | JAC | KC | LAC | LV | MIA | NE | NYJ
More Early Prep (NFC): ARI | ATL | CAR | CHI | DAL | DET | GB | LAR | MIN | SEA | NYG | WAS | PHI | NO | TB | SF
Cincinnati Bengals stats to know
The Bengals' lone offensive weakness was their offensive line, something that ultimately cost them Super Bowl LVI. It figures to be the No. 1 thing they address this offseason both via free agency and the draft. For Fantasy Football purposes, it's important to dive into his this might impact their projections -- in other words -- how might an improved line impact their offense? Well, for starters, here's a look at how Joe Burrow has performed in spite of a shaky offensive line thus far in his Bengals career:
- Burrow under pressure: 60.9% completion rate, 8.59 yards per attempt, 6.8% TD rate, 4.5% INT rate, 35 deep pass attempts
- Burrow no pressure: 73.6% completion rate, 8.96 yards per attempt, 6.5% TD rate, 2.1% INT rate, 62 deep pass attempts
Keep in mind, Burrow had the highest completion rate when pressured of any qualifying quarterback in 2021; he was somehow eighth-best when not pressured. It's a near-guarantee the Bengals will attempt to improve their offensive line this offseason, giving Burrow an opportunity to improve his completion rate when better protected.
Given his rich receiving corps, it's not crazy to think his numbers could explode in 2022.
Speaking of Burrow's rich receiving corps, number one atop the list was 2021 rookie Ja'Marr Chase. He's not the only interesting receiver from the 2021 rookie class and The Fantasy Football Today team dove deep into the 2021 WR rookie class and what their outlooks look like for 2022:
Burrow will be drafted with QB1 upside in 2022 and if the Bengals can successfully upgrade their offensive line this offseason it's easy to see why those expectations will be warranted.
