Bengals land favorable position in ESPN's future power rankings

The future is pretty bright for the Cincinnati Bengals, at least according to ESPN, who recently released a future power rankings for all 32 teams in the NFL. The rankings focus specifically on the next three seasons, including the upcoming 2024 campaign.

In the rankings, the Bengals came in at No. 8 overall, behind the following teams: Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers. Such rankings obviously need to be taken with a grain of salt, as the future is impossible to predict, but fans in Cincinnati should feel pretty good about finishing in the top 10.

Here's some of the optimistic rationale provided by ESPN in regards to Cincinnati's ranking:

"So far, so good for Joe Burrow in his recovery from a season-ending right wrist injury. This is probably the last season the Bengals will have both Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins running routes for him, but this is a broad-thinking and sharp-drafting front office that does as good a job as any in reloading when it decides to move on from a star."

All about Burrow

Let's be honest. When it comes to Cincinnati's outlook moving forward, it's all about Burrow. As long as he's healthy and out on the field. the Bengals should have a chance to be in the contender conversation. After all, Burrow led the team to the AFC Championship game in two of his first four seasons in the league.

The concern, of course, is that Burrow suffered season-ending injuries in the other two seasons, and the Bengals missed out on postseason play both times as a result. So yes, as long as Burrow can remain healthy, there's plenty of reason for optimism in Cincinnati, but his ability to do so isn't a given.

Plus, Burrow needs some help around him. The Bengals might lose Tee Higgins in free agency next year, but as long as they keep Ja'Marr Chase long-term, they'll continue to have one of the best quarterback-receiver combinations in the entire league.

It's fun to project forward, but in reality the Bengals need to focus on one campaign at a time, and after missing out on the playoffs last year, the hope is that 2024 will be a bounce back season for the team.