Bengals Roster: 4 breakout candidates for 2022 season

Many wonder which members of the Cincinnati Bengals roster will break out in 2022. These four players have the best opportunity to do so. 

Every year there’s at least one or two players who do more than what fans were expecting. The Cincinnati Bengals have four players this year who could surprise some people.

Some of these are names that people will be surprised to see on here but just because a player has already proven himself doesn’t mean that he can’t have another breakout season. Other players on here are definitely guys that fans aren’t expecting as much from. Let’s get to it.

All grades provided by PFF

All stats provided by NFL.com

4. Hayden Hurst

First up, we have Hayden Hurst, the skilled tight end who is set for a huge year in the Bengals offense with the departure of C.J Uzomah to the Jets this offseason.

With an overall grade of 55.3 by PFF it should be very possible for him to increase his lackluster numbers of last year. He was targeted 32 times with 26 receptions and 221 yards, which are not super impressive numbers for a skilled tight end like Hurst is.

The Bengal’s offense loves to utilize their tight ends so don’t be shocked to see Hurst getting a ton of attention from Burrow in the passing game similar to Uzomah last year. Hurst will be amidst a group of skilled receivers with the likes of Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tyler Boyd who will take most of the coverage responsibility away from him giving him the chance to slip through the cracks and be open a whole lot in 2022.

Hurst may not be the best run-blocker at the tight end position but he will surely be running plenty of routes, which in turn means he will have the opportunity to have his best season yet as an NFL player. He is the most athletic at his position on the Bengals roster meaning he has the starting job on lock so now only time will tell how effective this athleticism will correlate to his success.