Where do Bengals rank in way-too-early 2021 power rankings?

It’s hard to get a read on the Cincinnati Bengals when it comes to power rankings for the 2021 season.

On one hand, Zac Taylor still hasn’t won enough games to have his Bengals high on most lists. The team shouldn’t rank dead last by any means, but rankers who want to see results factor more heavily than projections on lists won’t put them high up.

On the other, the Bengals do have a ton of on-paper talent around budding star quarterback Joe Burrow.

It seems PFF’s 2021 season power rankings attempts to walk a balance between the two a bit by ranking the Bengals 27th:

“Super Bowl Win Probability: 1%
Highest-Graded Player: S Jessie Bates III (90.1)“

Don’t fret about the Super Bowl win probability comment either — only three teams have a double-digit percentage on that list, anyway.

And Super Bowl contention as early as next year is probably getting ahead of ourselves, anyway. The Bengals should see a marked improvement on the field next year, yes, but it’s going to take time for everything to properly fall into place.

Now, dramatically climbing up rankings like these? That’s something the Bengals might do in a hurry if they get off to a hot start next season.