ESPN experts say Bengals have the 17th-most promising future

Posted by Admin August 18, 2026 NFL

For its most recent Future Power Rankings, ESPN asked its panel of experts—Louis Riddick, Aaron Schatz, Ben Solak, and Seth Walder—to give grades for every NFL team’s QB situation, non-QB roster, front office, and coaching staff based on how good they’ll all be from 2027 to 2029.

The results may surprise you slightly.

The most promising future belongs to the Super Bowl champ Seattle Seahawks.

The least promising future belongs to the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cincinnati Bengals, meanwhile, fall just about in the middle at 17.

The experts gave the Bengals high scores for QB (5th best) and overall roster (11th best), but considered them subpar in terms of coaching (23rd) and the front office (28th).

Solak wrote that the Bengals have hope thanks to a healthier defense and offensive line, which have “reinvigorated” quarterback Joe Burrow.

Riddick’s concern is that the Bengals’ defense won’t necessarily perform the way the team anticipated when they traded the 10th overall pick in the Draft for Dexter Lawrence. If it doesn’t, he predicts that “there could be major changes in Cincinnati on and off the field.”

Schatz noted that Cincinnati has the NFL’s largest free agent class in terms of snaps for 2027, with DJ Turner, Dax Hill, Jordan Battle, Chase Brown, Samaje Perine, Ted Karras, and Dalton Risner all due new contracts.

Finally, Walder’s bold prediction is that Erick All Jr. will finish in the top five in receiving yards for tight ends in one of the seasons from 2027 to 2029.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers are predicted to have the 30th most promising future in the league, the Cleveland Browns the 28th, and the Baltimore Ravens the 9th.

You can read the entire list here.