Bengals News (7/4): Celebrating next generation

Chad Johnson shouts out the Bengals young trio of talented wide receivers.

Why the pressure is on the Bengals’ defense to improve in 2021
As they dropped 11 straight games under new coach Zac Taylor, it was painfully clear the franchise was in the depths of rebuilding. And the front office and coaching staff took the defense down to the studs.

Bengals: Can Joe Burrow post best stats of any AFC North QB in 2021?
Most seem to expect big things from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow in his second NFL season, regardless of whether he’s spent the summer rehabbing a knee injury or not.

Anthony Munoz On The 2021 Bengals: “I’m Excited About Our Direction”
Hall of Fame offensive tackle Anthony Munoz talks about his excitement for the 2021 season and explains why Frank Pollack is a key name to know on Cincinnati Bengals staff.

Bengals: Analyst says CIN should regret Joe Burrow over Justin Herbert
Forever linked due to their direct competition in the 2020 draft class before breakout rookie seasons, it feels like one can’t mention Burrow without Herbert’s name popping up either.

Bengals: Chad Johnson has huge hopes for Chase-Higgins-Boyd trio
While Chad always falls on the optimistic side, given the on-paper talent and what we’ve seen from Joe Burrow already, the Bengals could easily flirt with having a pair of 1,000-yard receivers.

Around the league

Ranking all 32 RB1s heading into 2021: Ezekiel Elliott just misses top five
You’ll soon realize — like I did — that this year’s crop of running backs is especially deep. In past years, it seemed like the position was top-heavy, but not this year. There is so much running back talent across the league, and even the players at the bottom of this list have a decent chance at proving they deserved a higher spot.

Dallas Cowboys chosen for ‘Hard Knocks’: Four storylines to watch on HBO’s five-episode series
HBO Sports’ and NFL Films’ groundbreaking docuseries returns on Tuesday, Aug. 10 (10 p.m. ET on HBO) to provide an all-access look over five episodes at the training camp of one of the league’s most renowned franchises. The selection of the Cowboys for the 2021 edition of Hard Knocks was announced Friday, marking the third time the club has been featured (2002 and ’08 being the previous two) in the show’s history.

Daniel Jones to embark on now-or-never season; NFL’s top five Batman and Robin duos
Excuse my brutal honesty, but it takes three years to determine whether a quarterback can really play in the NFL, and this is Year 3 for Jones. He heads into a make-or-break season with an 8-18 career record as a starter. Considering his losing record, propensity for turnovers (league-high 39 giveaways since 2019) and inconsistent play, it’s hard for me to pencil him in as the Giants’ QB1 beyond 2021 right now.

D.J. Chark on 2021 Jaguars: ‘We’re gonna shock a lot of people’
“Just to go out there and compete, be better than what we were last year,” Chark told NFL Network’s Omar Ruiz. “The 1-15 season is somewhere that we don’t want to go back. Everyone that’s here understands that. The guys that came in came from a lot of winning programs so we’re trying to develop that winning culture and just that comradery here and I think we’re going to do really good. I think we’re gonna shock a lot of people. I’m not one of the people that’s huge on setting record goals or anything like that, or saying how many wins or losses we’re gonna have but we’re gonna be an exciting football team, for sure.”