The Cincinnati Bengals don’t have one of the youngest rosters in the NFL anymore after two offseasons of veteran additions.
But the core of what the Bengals want to do with this rebuild leans heavily into younger players just entering their prime.
As such, it might come as a surprise to hear the Bengals only have one player on Pro Football Focus‘ top 25 players under 25 years of age going into the 2021 season.
And his name is Jessie Bates.
The writeup:
“Bates was the highest-graded safety in the league in 2020, posting an overall PFF grade of 90.1 and a coverage grade of 90.0. Nobody could match the frequency of plays Bates made on the football, many of which came from a deep-lying, middle-of-the-field alignment. He tallied a combined 15 interceptions and pass breakups, and even that number sold him short, as he was questionably flagged for a penalty on what would have been another.”
Bates, of course, absolutely deserves the honor. He’s one of the NFL’s best outright defenders and he’s bound to get paid as such when extension time rolls around, likely this offseason.
As for Joe Burrow, only three quarterbacks made the list, including Justin Herbert of the Chargers.
Regardless of any perceived snubs, if all goes according to plan for the team, the Bengals will have plenty of reps on lists like this in the immediate future.
