Mike Clay of ESPN is one of the best analytical minds out there in the world of football and fantasy football. So when he puts numbers to something, they mean something.
Thats why it’s telling that when he updated his latest Unit Grades, the Cincinnati Bengals came in at No. 5 overall with strong numbers just about everywhere across the board.
As you can probably expect, where the Bengals shine on this board are at quarterback, wide receiver and safety, including a 4.0 grade at wide receiver (highest in the league) and a 3.9 grade at safety (second only to the Jordan Poyer-Micah Hyde pairing in Buffalo.
Tight end (1.3) and linebacker (1.6) grades drag the Bengals down a bit, but overall, the Bengals come in very well, ending up fourth in offense, eighth in defense and fifth overall.
In fact, their 2.9 total grade is just slightly behind the 3.0 total grade shared by each of the top four teams (Buccaneers, Chargers, Packers and Bills). So needless to say, Clay thinks very highly of the reigning AFC champions.
Just did a thorough sweep of the 2022 NFL Unit Grades. Here's the latest update: pic.twitter.com/cVWlNTdZ16
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) July 12, 2022