Bengals Player Power Rankings Week 7: Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase Pushing For Top Spot

Trey Hendrickson only has 2.5 sacks in the season, but he's impacting the game in a major way. Despite the low sack number, Hendrickson is in the backfield on virtually every play. Hendrickson is absolutely crucial for the Bengals pass rush, and he’s showed that through six games.

Despite the slow start for the Bengals' offense, Joe Burrow is top five in the NFL is both passing yards and passing touchdowns. He bounced back in his return to Louisiana, throwing for 300 yards and three scores, while also rushing for a touchdown. If he can put together another performance like he had against the Saints this week, he could take over the No. 1 spot in these rankings.

Similar to Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase started this season slow statistically, but he showed on Sunday that he’s an elite wide receiver once again. He finished the game with 132 yards on seven catches and two touchdowns—including the game-winning score. 

The Bengals safety is proving his worth in a contract year. He currently leads the team in interceptions with three. Two of them came in the Bengals' win over the Dolphins on Thursday Night Football.

With DJ Reader missing time, the Bengals needed Sam Hubbard to step up and help in the run game, and that’s exactly what he’s done so far. Hubbard has been a balanced defensive end to this point, both as a pass rusher and a run stopper. Even though the defense struggled against the Saints, Hubbard is a reason for their strong start to the 2022 season.

The Bengals' No. 1 cornerback is also a big reason for their strong defensive start. He has been very good in coverage through six weeks and has returned to form last season. He’ll have a chance to continue his stellar play on Sunday against the Falcons.

Reader has missed a few games due to injury, but he still makes the list due to how dominant he was when he was on the field. Through the first few weeks, Reader was clearly the best player on the Bengals. After a poor performance stopping the run against the Saints, it’s clear how much this defense misses Reader.

Higgins has been battling injuries to this point in the season, but there’s a very clear difference in this team when he’s on the field. Chase has been doubled, sometimes triple covered this season, and Higgins has shown he can make teams pay when they put extra resources into potentially stopping Chase.

The Bengals' offensive line has put together some solid performances the past few games, and Alex Cappa has been a major part of that. After a nice game against the Saints, he earned a spot in this weeks rankings.

Wilson suffered a shoulder injury against the Saints. We don't know how long he'll be out, but he's a big part of Cincinnati's defense. He earns a spot on this list due to his play to this point in the season and hopefully for the Bengals, his injury isn’t serious and he can get back out there in the near future.