ESPN has the Bengals’ skill position group ranked 2nd in the NFL

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Cincinnati Bengals have one of the NFL’s best skill position groups.

The latest ranking to highlight this comes from ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, who has the Bengals ranked No. 2 in terms of skill position players. The only team ranked higher is the San Francisco 49ers.

Of course, the big highlight for Barnwell is the wide receiver trio of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. When all three are on the field, the Bengals’ passing game is as hard to defend as it gets in the pros.

One ding Barnwell gave the Bengals was at tight end, largely due to Irv Smith Jr. struggling to stay healthy.

“Going from Hayden Hurst to Irv Smith at tight end is a downgrade,” Barnwell wrote. “Smith hasn’t been able to stay healthy, missing 29 of 50 possible games over the past three seasons while battling knee, hand and ankle injuries. Smith hasn’t produced at a TE1 level while healthy; this is a position I’m hoping the Bengals address between now and the trade deadline.”

However, Barnwell was actually higher on running back Joe Mixon than most have been.

“Last season also looked like a step backward for Joe Mixon, who averaged just 3.9 yards per carry, which is the worst full-season mark of his career. Advanced metrics liked Mixon’s season more than the raw numbers, though; he posted 43 rushing yards over expected and ranked 10th in Football Outsiders’ version of success rate,” Barnwell wrote.

Be sure to check out Barnwell’s full ranking at ESPN.