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Fantasy Football Target Practice: The 2026 Cincinnati Bengals
Jul 7, 2026Chris CashThe Fantasy Footballers
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Player mentions
Andrei Iosivas
WR · CIN · #breakoutcandidate
...tasyfootballers.com/fantasy/andrei-iosivas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrei Iosivas & Co. all have roles in one of the league’s most fantasy-fri...
Erick All
TE · CIN · #general
...hefantasyfootballers.com/fantasy/erick-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Erick All 23 <td style="text-align: ce...
Jermaine Burton
WR · #general
...asyfootballers.com/fantasy/jermaine-burton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jermaine Burton ). The Critique: ...
Tyler Warren
TE · IND · #general
...antasyfootballers.com/fantasy/tyler-warren" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tyler Warren type if you’re going younger. <span style="font-weight:...
Tahj Brooks
RB · CIN · #general
...fantasyfootballers.com/fantasy/tahj-brooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tahj Brooks 6 <td style="text-align: cen...
Article text
The Cincinnati Bengals remained one of the NFL’s most productive passing offenses in 2025 despite losing Joe Burrow to a Grade 3 turf toe injury in Week 2. Burrow threw for 1,809 yards and 17 touchdowns in just eight games, while Cincinnati’s passing attack continued to produce for skill players under Joe Flacco , finishing the season with 4,244 passing yards and 38 TDs as a crew for the Queen City. Assuming Burrow is back to full strength in 2026 (so far, so good), passing volume shouldn’t be a concern. The bigger fantasy question is where those targets go outside of the two alphas. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins once again project to lead the way, but Chase Brown , Mike Gesicki , Andrei Iosivas & Co. all have roles in one of the league’s most fantasy-friendly passing offenses. Break it down now, ya’ll. 1. The Macro View: Projecting the 2026 Passing Game Passing Projection for Joe Burrow Pass Attempts: 570 Completions: 405 Passing Yards: 4,355 Passing TDs: 37 These numbers come directly from Baller’s Premium Projections in the Ultimate Draft Kit, plus my adjustments based on available Sportsbook futures/medians. Joe Burrow ‘s 2025 season got derailed, but his fantasy ceiling remains unquestioned. Over the last four seasons, Burrow has established himself as one of the NFL’s premier fantasy quarterbacks even without the rushing upside of the Allen/Lamar types. He finished as the overall QB3 or better for 14 weeks in that span. What’s wild is he missed 17 games in that span! There is no doubt the offense reaches another level with Burrow under center and not Smoking Joe Cool (Flacco). Assuming he’s back to full strength in 2026, these projections expect another season of elite QB1 production. 2. 2026 Bengals Target Projection Summary Player Targets Target Share Receptions Yards TDs Ja’Marr Chase 172 30% 120 1516 12 Tee Higgins 114 20% 75 1043 8 Chase Brown 80 14% 60 421 4 Mike Gesicki 57 10% 41 432 5 Andrei Iosivas 46 8% 27 346 4 Samaje Perine 27 5% 22 147 1 Erick All 23 4% 17 156 1 Drew Sample 23 4% 17 146 1 Tanner Hudson 17 3% 13 110 1 Mitchell Tinsley 11 2% 7 84 0 Colbie Young 6 1% 3 43 0 Tahj Brooks 6 1% 4 16 0 Totals 582 x 405 4459 37 Advanced Passing Team Notes from 2025 The Bengals ranked dead last in creating uncontested catch opportunities, leading the NFL with 119 contested targets . The next closest team finished with 102 , making who dey’ a clear outlier. Some of that can likely be attributed to Flacco taking over for much of the season, as his aggressive play style has never shied away from giving receivers chances in tight spaces. Still, consistently asking pass catchers to win through contact is difficult to sustain. With Joe Burrow back under center, expect the Bengals to create more clean throwing windows and improve thanks to easier catches. 3. The Targets: Individual Player Breakdowns 2026 Projected Passing Pie: 582 pass attempts Ja’Marr Chase 172 targets | 30% target share | 120 receptions | 1,516 yards | 12 TDs No receiver projects for more volume than Ja’Marr Chase . His 182 targets led the league, reinforcing his status as one of the few true offensive focal points in the game. Cincinnati has shown time and again that Chase will see elite volume no matter what. The surprising part of Chase’s season wasn’t the workload. It was the TD total. After scoring 17 TDs the previous year, Chase found the end zone just eight times despite finishing with 22 targets inside the 20-yard line, 6th most in the league. That is the s…