The Bengals are officially eliminated from playoff contention with two games left to play. In unfamiliar territory after five seasons of one-and-done playoff appearances, Bengals fans can pay extra attention to the college football bowl games taking place during the next three weeks.
Pro Football Focus has gone ahead and suggested two college football players that fans of every NFL team should be paying attention to during bowl season.
For the Bengals, PFF suggested a wide receiver and an edge defender.
Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan (Cotton Bowl vs. Wisconsin, Jan. 2)
Carl Lawson, EDGE, Auburn (Sugar Bowl vs. Oklahoma, Jan. 2)
The Bengals’ offense has been lacking a true No. 2 option opposite star receiver A.J. Green, and things have gotten even worse since Green went down due to injury. Davis is a perfect complement, as he’s perhaps the best route-runner in the draft class, and he has ranked among the top receivers in the nation for three straight years of PFF grading. In addition to receivers, finding a pass-rusher has been near the top of Cincinnati’s goals for a few years now, and Lawson would be a good fit as a 4-3 defensive end in their scheme. He tied for the third-best pass-rushing grade among all Power-5 edge defenders this year, at 90.9, as he was healthy for a full season for the first time since his true freshman year in 2013.
Davis is a four-year player who has been making an impact since his freshman year in 2013. In four years, Davis has accumulated 325 receptions for 5,205 yards and 51 touchdowns. This season alone he had 91 grabs for 1,427 yards and 18 touchdowns. Those are some crazy statistics for a college player to accumulate in one season. In each of the last three seasons, he's scored double digit touchdowns. Even more impressive, Davis has played double digit games in each of his seasons at Western Michigan, totaling 49 collegiate games, which will become 50 after the bowl game.
Davis was the 2016 MAC Offensive Player of the Year, has the most career receptions in the MAC, fourth most career receptions in NCAA history, the most career receiving yards in both the MAC and NCAA, fifth most touchdowns in MAC history, most receiving touchdowns in MAC history, seventh most yards from scrimmage in the MAC and 16th most points in the MAC (NCAA records since 1956, MAC records since 1977). That’s a huge number of highly impressive records.
Davis is a playmaker who should be fun to watch in the Cotton Bowl on January 2.
Lawson is a junior defensive lineman, declaring early for the draft, who has played 29 games at Auburn. In the process, he's churned out 65 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. When healthy, he is a nightmare for opposing offenses. Unfortunately, Lawson suffered two major injuries while in college. He tore his ACL in the spring following his freshman year and missed the entire 2014 season. And then upon returning, he then missed about two months of his redshirt sophomore season with a cracked hip. That injury was suffered in Auburn’s season opening game, putting a damper on the rest of his year. During that 2015 season, he played 7 games, accumulating 17 tackles and 1 sack.
The Bengals should be taking a hard lock at edge defenders with the defensive line underperforming so significantly this season, ranking 7th worst in sacks this year.
Among SEC defensive players, Lawson ranked seventh in tackles for loss this season, 2nd in sacks and seventh in forced fumbles.
What do you think of Davis and Lawson? Which other players will you be eyeing in the approaching bowl games?