Most overrated player on every NFL team in the 2022 season

Cincinnati Bengals: Samaje Perine, RB

Joe Mixon is easily one of the top running backs in the NFL. He led the Cincinnati Bengals last year with 1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. If that wasn’t impressive enough, he added another 314 yards and three touchdowns on 42 receptions.

As good as he is, the Bengals seemed to try and replace him far too often with Samaje Perine during the playoffs — as well as in the Super Bowl. Perine, for example, was the running back on the field during their critical fourth down, and Joe Burrow even tried a desperation pass in his direction as Aaron Donald was wrapping him up.

It’s not Perine’s fault that the ball didn’t get there, but having one of the best weapons on the bench during such an important time felt like a mistake. Head coach Zac Taylor defended the decision afterward, pointing to how well Perine has done when it comes to pass-blocking during the two-minute drills during the season but when titles are on the line, the special players need to be out there.

Perine has had some success with Cincinnati, running for 4.6 yards per attempt over the past two and a half seasons. Plus at 240-pounds, it makes sense that he can lay hits as a blocker. Even so, the team put too much faith in him by elevating him over a true weapon on that drive.