2013 Bengals Season Awards: Rookie Of The Year

Though the Cincy Jungle staff like to harp on their opinions and play the "agree, but" card when in a discussion abotu the Bengals, there are instances when we tend to agree on things. "The sky is blue", "the Bengals are heartbreakers", and a few other obvious things. There was also a Bengals 2013 season award that we unanimously agreed upon: the ward for Rookie of the Year.

For the high grades that the Bengals received for their efforts last April, there were minimal contributions from the draft class. Tyler Eifert had his moments but was under-utilized, Margus Hunt is raw and is still finding his way and Shawn Williams only made the occasional play on special teams. It was running back Giovani Bernard, selected at the top of the second round with a pick gained from the Carson Palmer trade with the Raiders, who made the biggest impact in Cincinnati.

Bernard finished the season with 695 yards rushing on 4.1 yards per carry and had another 514 yards receiving on 56 catches. he had eight total touchdowns (five rushing, three receiving) and had a number of highlight reel plays. He was a critical part of the team's offensive strategy, even though he took a backseat to BenJarvus Green-Ellis and is our sole nominee for the Bengals' Rookie of the Year award.