Bengals 2025 Passing Attack Preview

Joe Burrow played all 17 games in 2024 and had a career year - 4900 passing yards, 43 passing TDs - the Bengals were basically the most pass-heavy team in the NFL - it’s why both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins finished Top-5 in fantasy points per game. Ja’Marr Chase, Chris Godwin, Justin Jefferson, and then Tee Higgins with 19.3 fantasy points per game were the leaders in fantasy points per game last season - and actually, both Higgins and Jefferson averaged 19.3 fantasy points between Weeks 1 and 17. Just wild.

The problem is - can we depend on Higgins to play and produce when we need him to? That’s been the only real knock with him. He’s also up and down - he came through so big in the fantasy playoffs last year… WR15, WR11, and overall WR1 in the championship round with 40 points. He followed that up with 9.3 fantasy points the game after, by the way… and of course, this is the type of volatile player that you’re perfectly fine with in your lineup each week for the upside. He had a WR50 finish in between a WR2, WR16, WR15 finish - but hey, again, he’s part of the most pass heavy offense in the league, and he had a solid 24% target share, which ranked 28th among WRs last year – but because the Bengals passed it so much, he ranked 9th in targets/game. 5th in expected fantasy points/game, too. He was only behind Malik Nabers, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and Davante Adams in that category last year.

Now, Higgins is going off the board at WR13 in best ball, and I totally get that - he’s going to pull in some big weeks. In redraft though, it’s hard for me to pull him off the board ahead of guys like Chase Brown and Breece Hall. It’s really just a lot to do with how much I’ve been able to trust (or not trust) Higgins over the years, but if I knew he was going to be healthy all year, I would be perfectly fine with this price. At the end of the day, once WRs like Drake London, Ladd McConkey are off the board, that price tag sits fine with me - but then you have guys like Davante Adams and Rashee Rice still on the board when he’s coming off, so I’m not sure if I’m ok with that. He’s not a full avoid for me at that price of the WR13 - and I’m not one to label guys injury prone - but man, the highs have been high, and the lows have been low with Higgins. But there’s no doubt he’s a must-start player anytime he’s healthy, and has the upside to be the overall WR1 any given week.

The other thing to consider is whether or not Joe Burrow is going to throw 40+ TDs again. There were only two QBs ever to throw 40+ TDs two years in a row: Tom Brady threw 40 and 43 TDs in 2020 and 2021, and Drew Brees threw 43 and 46 in 2011 and 2012. That’s it. Two of the greatest to ever do it.

Is Joe Burrow going to be join this list? He definitely can, but history isn’t on his side - the chances of him actually doing it isn’t great. The yardage too - Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford the only two QBs who have thrown for 4900 yards or more multiple seasons in a row. So the chance he repeats last year is not high, just by the historic numbers. He finished as the QB3 in points per game last season behind Lamar and Josh Allen, he’s the QB5 off the board, but I just don’t like drafting non-rushing QBs so early - the 42nd player off the board? Joe Burrow? Way too early. He’s not even going that high on Underdog - they got it right around 62, I think that’s fine, but in single QB redraft he’s going way higher, and he’s a full avoid for me there. I’d rather wait on QB opposed to paying an inflated price after what could be his career year.

I will say though - if anyone has the perfect storm brewing, it’s Burrow - extremely pass first in neutral situations, and then you consider how bad the defense is going to be, always chasing points, always in competitive games - it’s an amazing situation for any elite passer.