Cincinnati Bengals: Are any players deserving of Pro Bowl nod?
By Kenn Korb
Alex Erickson
Relax, this isn’t for him as a receiver. He isn’t even at double-digit receptions, and a full ten other Bengals have more catches.
Erickson is here for his return skills. He doesn’t get his name recognized league-wide in the manner his more explosive counterparts do, but while the game-changing plays may not be there he is able to steadily give his team nice field position through his return attempts.
The value from that shines through both on punts and kicks. In Football Outsiders’ DVOA special teams rankings, the Bengals sit in the top 10 in both areas — with a top-five showing on the kick returns.
The competition for Erickson isn’t actually too deep, but due to only two returners being selected he’ll still have a tough go even without a ton of names competing with him. His opposition is a group consisting of Andre Roberts (NYJ), Tarik Cohen (CHI), Tyreek Hill (KC), and Cordarrelle Patterson (NE).
Roberts joins Erickson on the “consistency > explosiveness” side of things. At best, only one of them probably can make it because those others bring more big returns — and excitement — to the table. Cohen and Hill have a chance to make it at their regular positions; take them out of the equation, and it becomes a three-way toss-up between Erickson, Roberts, and Patterson.
It isn’t the most exciting, sure, but this may be one of the more likely chances for the Bengals to break through.