Unless the Cincinnati Bengals pull off any fan's dream offseason, much less my own that vaults them into Super Bowl contention with ease, they're going to struggle in 2026.
This isn't a hot take. It's less about the Bengals' players and more about their lack of in-house answers to meaningfully ascend from a six-win team to playoff territory. The AFC is a strong conference across the board.
Furthermore, Cincinnati's front office is notoriously conservative in free agency most years. The draft also tends not to bear much fruit unless it's a no-brainer pick like Joe Burrow or Ja'Marr Chase.