This will be Eli Apple’s second year on the Cincinnati Bengals roster after he re-signed with the stripes in the offseason. Is he overvalued? One analyst thinks he is.
Eli Apple got off to a slow start for the Cincinnati Bengals last season but turned things around in a big way in the last half of the regular season. He played a big role in why the team ended up reaching the Super Bowl and re-signing him, especially for the amount the team did, was a solid move by the stripes.
Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports, however, listed Apple as the Bengals’ most overvalued player.
Kerr offered this analysis:
"Targeted 78 times in 617 coverage snaps last season, Apple allowed just 52.7% of his passes targeting him to be caught for 512 yards and three touchdowns. As the primary defender, Apple allowed just a 60.8 passer rating when opposing quarterbacks have targeted him — with just four defensive pass interference penalties. Of course, all that progress seemed to be impeded after a dreadful Super Bowl LVI."
The Super Bowl wasn’t exactly a great look for Apple but he brought a lot of that on himself with all of the trash-talking he did leading up to the game. Also, he was tasked with going up against Cooper Kupp, who every cornerback had trouble containing.
Kerr continues:
"Cincinnati has rookies Tycen Anderson and Cam Taylor-Britt behind Apple, so cornerback can be a major issue if he struggles. If Apple reverts to his pre-Cincinnati form, the Bengals will have a very hard time defending their AFC title."
Bengals Roster: Is Eli Apple overvalued?
The Bengals are putting a lot of stock into Apple this year but he did show last season that he could be a solid starting option opposite Chidobe Awuzie. If he struggles, he might have a short leash and second-round rookie Cam Taylor-Britt might be thrust into the spotlight in his place.
I don’t think Eli Apple is overvalued because fans know that he isn’t always at the top of his game. Fans wanted the team to put more of an emphasis on the cornerback position during the offseason but it’s hard to fixate on every position. The team re-signed Apple and spent three of their six draft picks on the secondary.
I get why Apple is the pick here though. The Bengals have a strong roster and Apple is one of the few question marks. This is more fuel to his fire though.