Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the Cincinnati Bengals will be inducting Dave Lapham and Lemar Parrish to their Ring of Honor this year.

Lapham is one of the most popular Bengals Offensive Linemen in team history, and was also among its most versatile.  Playing most of his games at Guard, Lapham started at all five OL positions over his career (1974-83), and started 105 of his 140 Games.  Following his playing career, Lapham became the radio voice of the Bengals, a role he still holds today.

Parrish played for the Bengals from 1970 to 1977, starting 101 of 105 Games at Left Cornerback.  A six-time Pro Bowl Selection with Cincinnati, Parrish had 25 Interceptions for the team and also had 3,236 Return Yards with 5 Touchdowns.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Dave Lapham and Lemar Parrish for their impending honor.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we maintain and update our existing Top 50 lists annually.  As such, we are delighted to present our post-2024 revision of our top 50 Cincinnati Bengals.

As for all of our top 50 players in football, we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Bengals were led by an explosive offense featuring Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, but the defense let them down, and Cincinnati was unable to make the playoffs, finishing with a 9-8 record.  There was one new entrant, and multiple elevations based on last year’s season.

As always, we present our top five, which remains unchanged in that ranking.

1. Anthony Munoz
2. Ken Anderson
3. Geno Atkins
4. Ken Riley
5. Boomer Esiason 

You can find the entire list here. 

Superstar Quarterback Joe Burrow rocketed from #36 to #19.  Burrow was fourth in MVP voting in 2024.

Burrow’s prime weapon, Wide Receiver Ja’Marr Chase, also has a substantial increase by going from #49 to #25.  Chase earned his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl last year.

Defensive star Trey Henrickson jumped to #26 from #50.  He was last year’s Defensive Player of the Year’s runner-up.

The lone new entry is Wide Receiver Tee Higgins.  He comes in at #45.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

A consistent performer since he was drafted in the Second Round from Clemson, Tee Higgins has played five seasons thus far for the Bengals and has exceeded 900 Yards in four of them.  In two of those campaigns, Higgins broke 1,000 Yards (1,091 in 2021 and 1,029 in 2022), and while he only had 911 Yards last season, he had 10 Touchdowns for the first time.

As an excellent option behind Ja’Marr Chase, Higgins should break 5,000 Yards and 40 TDs this year.

Corey Dillon was an All-Rookie (1997) after the Cincinnati Bengals took him in the Second Round from the University of Washington.

The Running Back was a workhorse from the start, going for 1,129 Yards and 10 Touchdowns.  Dillon's 1,129 was the lowest Rushing total he had until 2003, and in his rookie seasons and each year from 1999 to 2002, he was in the top ten in Rushing Yards.  Dillon peaked at 1,435 Rushing Yards in 2000, and he had three consecutive years (2000-02), where he had at least 1,500 Yards From Scrimmage.  He was also a three-time Pro Bowler for the Bengals from 1999 to 2001.

After a poor 2003 season, Dillon was traded to New England and had one of his best years in football, setting a team record 1,635 Rushing Yards and winning a Super Bowl Ring (XXXIX) with the Patriots, which was the same season he earned his fourth and Final Pro Bowl Selection.

Over his career, Dillon compiled 13,154 YFS with 89 Touchdowns.

2024: Pre-Season Rank: #127.  Peak Period 2019-23.

Trey Hendrickson came into his own in his last season in New Orleans (2020) with a 13.5 Sack/12 TFL year, but once he joined the Cincinnati Bengals, he became a defensive juggernaut.

The Bengals were defensively an issue in 2024, but Trey Hendrickson was carrying the squad, performing so well that he led the NFL in Sacks (17.5) and was second in Defensive Player of the Year voting.  Henrickson has been a Pro Bowler all four of his Cincinnati years, and based on the off-field negotiations in 2025, the Bengals are hoping that he can lead the Southern Ohio to the promised land.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Cincinnati Bengals.

As for all of our top 50 players in football, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Bengals were unable to make the playoffs, though did have a winning record (9-8).  2023 still saw four new names enter the Top 50 with two elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Anthony Munoz
2. Ken Anderson
3. Geno Atkins
4. Ken Riley
5. Boomer Esiason 

You can find the entire list here.

Running Back Joe Mixon, now with the Houston Texans, moved up from #35 to #30.

Quarterback Joe Burrow advanced to #36 from #48.

The four new entries are:

Wide Receiver Tyler Boyd, now a Tennessee Titan, enters at #43.

Linebacker Germaine Pratt debuts at #44.

Three-time Pro Bowler (in only three years) Wide Receiver Ja’Marr Chase comes in at #49.

The last entry is defensive end Trey Hendrickson, another three-time Pro Bowler (again, in only three seasons).

Offensive Lineman Rich Braham, Wide Receiver Darnay Scott, Defensive End Michael Johnson, and Defensive Tackle Mike Reid fell off the Top 50.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Reunited, and it feels so good.

A year after Ja’Marr Chase won the NCAA National Championship at LSU with Joe Burrow, he was drafted fifth overall by the Cincinnati Bengals, where Burrow was drafted the year before.

Chase has delivered, earning Pro Bowls in all four seasons with 5,425 Yards and 46 Touchdowns.  Winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year, Chase is a sight to behold on the gridiron.  An excellent route-runner and a contortionist when he needs to be with power despite his smallish size, the Burrow/Chase combo has already been to a Super Bowl and could do so again.  

Entering 2025, Chase is coming off his best season, and arguably the best by a Bengals WR, where he led the NFL in Receptions (127), Receiving Yards (1,708), Receiving Touchdowns (17), and Yards per Touch (13.4).  He was awarded with a First Team All-Pro, received MVP and Offensive Player of the Year votes, and could do so again this season.

Trey Hendrickson, the 2016 Conference-USA Defensive Player of the Year, was drafted in the Third Round from Florida Atlantic by the New Orleans Saints, but when he signed with the Bengals in 2021 was when he became a star in the NFL.

As of this writing, Hendrickson has played excellent pass-rushing football for the Bengals, accumulating 77 Sacks and 71 Tackles for Loss in his four years in Southern Ohio.  He was named to the Pro Bowl in all four of his Bengals campaigns, and last season, he had the season of his life, earning First Team All-Pro honors and finishing second in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year.  Hendrickson has been brilliant for the Bengals thus far and has broken all expectations since his arrival.

As of this writing, Germaine Pratt has played the entirety of his five-year career with the Cincinnati Bengals, the team that drafted him from NC State in 2019’s Third Round.

Pratt won the starting Linebacker job midway through his rookie year and emerged as one of their better run defenders.  Year by year, Pratt has been increasing his tackling metrics, and in 2023, he broke out with 118 Tackles.  He followed that up with his best tackling campaign with 143 Tackles, but that would end his run in Cincy, as he grew frustrated with the Bengals' direction.  He was released by the team and signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason.

Tyler Boyd played his first eight seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, arriving in 2016 as a Second Round Pick from the University of Pittsburgh.

Boyd did not have many touches in his first two years (76 combined receptions) but settled in as a productive WR 2 over his last six years in the jungle.  He had over 1,000 Yards in both 2018 and 2019, and over his eight years, he had an even 6,000 Yards with 31 TDs for Cincinnati.

He departed Cincinnati for Tennessee via free agency.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that Corey Dillon and Tim Krumrie have been chosen for the Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor.

The Bengals were late to the dance in the creation of a Ring of Honor, but have made up for lost time with the past announcements of Ken Anderson, Paul Brown, Isaac Curtis, Boomer Esiason, Chad Johnson, Anthony Munoz and Ken Riley to their Ring.

Corey Dillon, Running Back, 1997-2003.  The dynamic Running Back rushed for 8,061 Yards and 45 Touchdowns for the Bengals, while adding 1,482 Yards and 5 TDs from the air.  Dillon was a three-time Pro Bowl Selection.  He still holds the three top single-game rushing games in franchise history

Tim Krumrie, Nose Tackle-Defensive Tackle, 1983-94.  Krumrie played his entire career with the Bengals where the Nose Tackle was a two-time Pro Bowl and one-time First Team All-Pro.  He had 1,017 Tackles and 34.5 Sacks in the Jungle.

Dillon and Krumrie will be officially inducted at Cincinnati’s home game against the Washington Commanders on September 23^rd.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will look at how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the Cincinnati Bengals have announced the nominees for their Ring of Honor.

Here are the nominees:

Jim Breech, Place Kicker: 1980-92.

Breech is the all-time leading scorer in franchise history and was the first kicker to have two 40-yard Field Goals in the Super Bowl.

James Brooks, Running Back: 1984-91.

In the years Brooks played for the Bengals, only Marcus Allen, Eric Dickerson, and Roger Craig had more Yards from Scrimmage (9,459). He was a four-time Pro Bowl Selection and had 64 Touchdowns for the club.

Cris Collinsworth, Wide Receiver: 1981-88.

Collinsworth was the runner-up for the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1981 and was a Pro Bowl and Second Team All-Pro in his first three seasons.  He exceeded 1,000 Yards four times and had 6,698 Receiving Yards and 26 TDs.

Corey Dillon, Running Back, 1997-2003.

Dillon was a three-time Pro Bowl Selection who rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first six seasons, 8,061 in total for the Bengals. He is Cincinnati’s all-time leading rusher and also had 89 Touchdowns (82 rushing, 7 receiving) for the Bengals.

David Fulcher, Safety, 1986-92.

Fulcher went to three straight Pro Bowls (1988-90) and was a First-Team All-Pro in 1989. Over his career, he recorded 31 Interceptions and 8.5 Sacks.

Tim Krumrie, Nose Tackle, 1983-94.

Krumrie was twice named to the Pro Bowl.  In 1988, he was a First-Team All-Pro and was seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Playing his 12-year career in Cincinnati, Krumrie accumulated 1,017 Tackles and 34.5 Sacks.

Dave Lapham, Offensive Guard, 1974-83.

Lapham started 105 of his 140 Games and, following his playing career, would join the Bengals broadcasting team.

Max Montoya, Offensive Guard, 1979-92.

Montoya was a member of the Bengals’ first two AFC Championship teams, and three of his four Pro Bowls were in Cincinnati.

Bob Trumpy, Tight End, 1968-77.

Trumpy is the only player in team history to be named an AFL All-Star and to the Pro Bowl.  A First Team All-Pro in 1969 when he had a career-high 835 Yards and 9 Touchdowns, he tallied 4,600 Yards and 35 TDs.

Reggie Williams, Linebacker, 1976-89.

Williams played all of his 206 NFL Games with the Bengals where he had 63.5 Sacks.  He also won the Alan Page Community Award in 1984 and the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 1988.

You can vote for who you think should enter the Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor here.

Kevin Huber was a two-time All-American Punter at the University of Cincinnati and was so good that he was one of the few Punters who was drafted (5^th Round).  Even better, the team that drafted him was his hometown Bengals, where he played all of his 14 NFL seasons. 

A Pro Bowl Selection in 2014, Huber played in 216 Games, punting for 45,766 Yards.  He finished in the top ten in Punting Yards six times and Yards per Punt three times, and at the time of his retirement, he was in the top thirty all-time in Punts, Punting Yards and Yards per Punt.

A.J. Green, who was drafted from the University of Georgia, was the first wide receiver picked in the 2011 Draft. He played a long and successful career with the Cincinnati Bengals.

In his rookie year, Green was an All-Rookie and made the Pro Bowl after recording 1,057 yards and 7 touchdowns. He followed that up with two consecutive Second Team All-Pro honors, scoring 11 touchdowns each year and recording yardage outputs of 1,350 and 1,426, respectively. Although Green was on the verge of becoming an elite wide receiver, this was as close as he got.

Despite this, Green continued to perform well over the next four seasons (2014-17), earning a spot on the Pro Bowl roster and bringing his total to seven. Unfortunately, a toe injury limited him to just nine games in 2018, and he suffered a torn ligament in 2019 training camp, which kept him out for the entire season. Green returned in 2020, but had his lowest output with only 523 yards. That season proved to be his last with Cincinnati.

Green finished his career with two seasons in Arizona, where he recorded almost 1,110 yards and five touchdowns. In total, Green recorded 10,514 yards and 70 touchdowns, which are impressive numbers, but not enough to secure him a place in the Hall of Fame in this era.

Geno Atkins, who had a dominant run at the University of Georgia, was considered small for a Defensive Tackle and fell to the fourth round in the 2010 Draft. However, this turned out to be a steal for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Atkins began his career as a bench player, but he started at Right Defensive Tackle in his second year and held that position until 2019. His quick jump off the snap was unmatched, and he established himself as an excellent edge creator. His speed was impressive, as he was often seen chasing down runners. Atkins was named to eight Pro Bowls with Cincinnati and was a First Team All-Pro in 2012 and 2015. It is worth noting that Atkins achieved all this without much support in the Jungle.

After the 2019 Season, Atkins was named to the All-Decade Team, but he underwent major shoulder surgery and was only able to play eight games in 2020, recording only one tackle. Unfortunately, this ended his career in the NFL, which had been a very successful one, with 75.5 sacks, 100 tackles for loss, and 384 combined tackles.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #109,  2023 Pre-Season Rank #126. Peak Period: 2020-24

In 2019, Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy and took LSU to the National Championship.  There was no doubt that he would go number one overall, and the Cincinnati Bengals have been blessed to have him.

After his rookie year, Burrow has arguably been a top-five NFL pivot, and as a sophomore, he brought the Bengals closer than they had ever been to capturing the Lombardi Trophy.  Last season, he was electric on a Cincinnati squad that had depth and defensive issues, and he led the NFL in Passing Yards (4,918) and Touchdowns (43) with only 9 Interceptions.  He was awarded the Comeback Player of the Year, and was fourth in MVP voting despite a 9-8 record.

The Bengals are one of the most intriguing teams entering 2025, but they will contend as long as Burrow is healthy.  If he is, expect another significant jump in this rank next year. 

2024 Pre-Season Rank #66, 2023: Pre-Season Rank #93.  Peak Period 2019-23.

Orlando Brown begins his eighth season, his third in Cincinnati, where the Tackle will look to win his second Super Bowl (his first coming in Kansas City).  Brown had a four-year streak of Pro Bowls (2019-22), but his run with the Bengals has taken him off that upper tier of Tackles, though he is capable of returning to that level.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022 revision of our top 50 Cincinnati Bengals.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following:

1. Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Bengals made it to their second straight AFC Championship Game, though could not make their second consecutive Super Bowl. 2022 brought us one new entrant and one elevation.

As always, we present our top five, which had no changes.

1. Anthony Munoz

2. Ken Anderson

3. Geno Atkins

4. Ken Riley

5. Boomer Esiason

You can find the entire list here.

Running Back, Joe Mixon went up ten spots to #35.

The lone new entrant is Quarterback, Joe Burrow, who debuts at #48.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

There are two distinct images for us with Joe Burrow in 2020.

The first is the QB leading LSU to a National Championship, which he punctuated with a celebratory stogie.

The second was in his parents’ humble home, where he was drafted #1 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Burrow felt like a special player right away, despite the cautiousness of the Bengals faithful, who have endured a lot of suffering from disappointing Quarterbacks. Burrow only won two Games as a rookie and was injured at that time with a torn ACL and PCL. This still did not make it a bust year for Burrow, who showed why he was taken number one.

Bouncing back in 2021, Burrow won the AP Comeback Player of the Year, throwing for 4,611 Yards, 34 Touchdowns, and an NFL-leading 70.4 Pass Completion Percentage. Burrow led the Bengals to their third Super Bowl appearance, and though they did not win, it was their best performance to date.

Burrow had another great year in 2022 (4,475 Yards & 35 TD), where he had a Pro Bowl and took Cincinnati to the AFC Conference Game.  The QB only appeared in 10 Games in 2023 due to injury, though he was very good when healthy.   Last season, Burrow went through agony and ecstasy as he statistically had his best season to date.  The pivot threw for an NFL-leading 4,918 Yards and 43 Touchdowns while surrendering only 9 Interceptions.  Despite this stellar performance (that earned him a second Pro Bowl and a fourth-place MVP finish), Cincinnati's defence was poor, and the Bengals went only 9-8.

Going into 2025, the Bengals have a top-five Quarterback and a man who can give them their first title, especially if he remains healthy.

The Cincinnati Bengals did not begin their Ring of Honor until two years ago, and like any such institution, there is debate as to who should enter. Former Bengal, Corey Dillon, sounded off to the Athletic, that the process is flawed.

Dillon played for the Bengals from 1997 to 2003, where he exceeded 1,000 Yards Rushing in the first six of them. A Pro Bowler three seasons in a row (1999-01), Dillon is the all-time rushing leader in Cincinnati with 8,061 Yards, but his end with the Bengals was acrimonious as he sought a trade after the 2003 Season. His wish was granted, and he was dealt to New England and would win his only Super Bowl.

Dillon was not chosen for the Bengals Ring of Honor, which added Willie Anderson and Isaac Curtis, and he believes that his departure led to the voters (which are all season ticket holders) snubbing him. His words were not filtered, calling it “criminal” that he was omitted and that it was not a “popularity contest”.

“Bengals are smart. I give it to them. We will put it in the hands of the season-ticket holders, so they don't have to take that backlash over who the voters are picking. That's bullshit. The shit should come straight from the team. Half these season-ticket holder people never seen half of us play."

He also joked that Jon Kitna (former Quarterback), will get in before him.

While Dillon is Ring of Honor worthy, we would not be surprised if his words will keep him out.