Bengals News (6/1): Hall of Fame recognition

Hobson's Choice: With Sack of Talent On New Bengals Defense, How Many?
Tackle Geno Atkins went to the second of his eight Pro Bowls that season with a career-high 12.5 sacks and edge Carlos Dunlap added six. Both were in their third seasons and now they've got all that experience that combines for 157 career sacks. Heading into the draft, Dunlap and Atkins were tied for the NFL lead for career teammate sacks with Denver's Von Miller and Jurrell Casey.

Joe Burrow could lead Bengals to playoffs in 2020
Cincinnati selected former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and he is in line to become the immediate starter after the team released veteran quarterback Andy Dalton. The win totals from a betting standpoint don’t look good for Cincinnati but Pro Football Focus believes this team is better than most think.

Bengals: Joe Burrow isn’t afraid to use his platform to speak out
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow turned some heads recently by going public with a statement concerning the George Floyd protests.

Bengals legend Willie Anderson praises Joe Burrow for speaking out
Floyd was stopped by Minneapolis police outside of a local convenient store on Monday evening on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Video at the scene captured Floyd pinned on the ground as an officer placed his knee on Floyd's neck for approximately eight minutes. The 46-year-old died soon after the incident.

Bengals focused on making The Jungle a hostile environment again
It’s no secret the Bengals have struggled in attendance lately. Last year, the Bengals finished with the second-worst attendance average in the NFL (47,179).

Around the league

History doesn’t favor Cowboys having Dak play under tag
While it remains to be seen how it all plays out, a look into gridiron history provided by NFL Research suggests that Prescott playing under the tag doesn't bode well for a long history in Big D.

Harbaugh’s Ravens no longer an ‘iceberg,’ as foes will ‘see us’
"Going into our season last year, we were the iceberg," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Thursday, via the team website's Clifton Brown. "Ninety percent of what we were going to be capable of was still under water and people hadn't seen it yet. Starting next year, we're not going to be the iceberg. People are going to see us. We're going to be everybody's most important game."

Big Ben, Stafford among those ready to rock after missing time
Green will be 32 years old entering the season and has missed 23 of 32 games while dealing with injuries over the past two years, including all of 2019 -- but I can see the logic in keeping Green in the fold via the franchise tag. First and foremost, Cincinnati believes Green can regain the form that made him the second-leading receiver in the franchise's 52-year history. Second, he should help No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow establish his NFL footing as a rookie quarterback more quickly. And he and young receivers Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins should be able to feed off each other, with Green providing veteran leadership and Boyd and Higgins opening up opportunities for Green.

Greg Olsen, Julius Peppers among Steve Smith's top five teammates
Below, former NFL receiver Steve Smith Sr. (Carolina Panthers, 2001-13; Baltimore Ravens, 2014-16) kicks things off with his ranking of the top players he played with, listed in reverse order:

Bold NFL predictions: Cowboys roll, Seahawks stumble, Pats collapse
The 49ers went from picking second in the draft to hitting the Super Bowl. Gardner Minshew started the season as a sixth-round afterthought behind big-ticket free-agent signee Nick Foles ... and ended up as the Jaguars' entrenched starter. Boston Scott, who sounds like a backup midfielder for Johns Hopkins lacrosse, suddenly began making plays in crunch time to help lift the Eagles into the playoffs.