The Bengals are hoping that 2026 is the year they get back to the playoffs and run the AFC North. They are the only team in the division that kept their head coach and they made a significant investment into their defense coming off the worst performance in franchise history.
But the good news for the Bengals’ defense is that they don’t need to be a top-10 unit to be a Super Bowl contender. All they need to do is be close to average. And that’s because the offense has a chance to be special again in 2026.
With Joe Burrow and this wide receiver group, they should be able to outscore just about anyone in the league. But it appears that some in the media forgot just how good this wide receiver group can be with Burrow under center.
Bengals given disrespectful wide receiver ranking
In a recent article by Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report, he wrote about the best wide receiver groups in the NFL going into the 2026 season. Of course, he included the Bengals, but it was their ranking that caused a bit of an uproar. The Bengals came in at No. 3, behind the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings.
The Cowboys and Vikings both have outstanding No. 1 and No. 2 options, but neither has a player who is as accomplished as Tee Higgins. Here is a snippet of what Davenport had to say about the No. 2 receiver in Cincinnati:
“Chase isn't the only high-end weapon at Joe Burrow's disposal—seventh-year veteran Tee Higgins would be a No. 1 receiver on many NFL teams. Durability has been something of an issue in recent years (12 missed games the past two seasons), but the 27-year-old has scored 21 touchdowns the past two seasons and has a pair of 1,000-yard campaigns on his NFL resume.”
Higgins has shown that he can single-handedly take over a game and can function as the No. 1 receiver if Chase were ever to miss time. And that’s what makes this offense so dangerous. They have two legit No. 1 options, and their skillsets complement each other so well.
Chase and Higgins alone could be enough to put the Bengals at the top of this list. But Andrei Iosivas has shown enough improvement to be an actual asset for this offense. He has started 17 games over the last two seasons and racked up over 900 receiving yards, and has scored eight touchdowns.
Now, those numbers sound modest, but they are pretty impressive considering how many targets go to Chase and Higgins every week. It’s also worth noting that Chase Brown gets a healthy workload in the passing game, as well, so there just isn’t a ton of opportunity for the No. 3 receiver in the offense. And yet, he’s averaging 7.7 yards per target and 13.2 yards per reception over the last two seasons, which is well above what is expected from a third wide-out.
With a healthy Joe Burrow in 2026, this trio should remind the rest of the league that they are the top wide receiver group in the NFL. And frankly, it’s embarrassing that it’s still even a question after all the success this group has had together over the last five seasons.
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