Bengals Quarter-Century Team: Creating Best 53-Man Roster Since 2000

CINCINNATI – Earlier this week the Cincinnati Bengals celebrated their past with the induction of Dave Lapham and Lemar Parrish into the Ring of Honor.

But only three of the 11 players in the Ring of Honor ever played in Paul Brown/Paycor Stadium, which opened in 2000.

So let’s look at the best of the best the team has fielded in the last 25 years.

This is our Bengals All-Quarter Century Team.

It’s a 53-man roster based solely on players’ performances since 2000.

We’re going to go with 12 starters on offense and defense, allowing for flexibility of two-back or three-receiver personnel.

Quarterback (2)

Starter: Joe Burrow

He’s already the winningest quarterback in Bengals postseason history, and Burrow is well on his way to breaking every franchise passing record in the book.

Taking volume stats out of the mix because of the difference in play calling in today’s game than during Carson Palmer’s time, and even Andy Dalton’s, Burrow is far and away the leader in passer rating (101.2 to Dalton’s 87.5), and his 7.5 yards per attempt is better than the 7.1 posted by Palmer and Dalton.

It’s doubtful there are many who would disagree with this selection, and even if there are, it might not take too long into 2025 for them to change their mind.

Backup: Carson Palmer

Dalton had a better winning percentage (.534 to .474), but he also had better supporting casts. Palmer’s raw talent was elite, and no one is drafting Dalton over him.

Running Back (4)

Starters: Corey Dillon, Joe Mixon

Even though Dillon played four seasons for the Bengals in the 2000s, he hit 1,300 yards in three of them while scoring 38 touchdowns.

The Ring of Honor inductee also owns the top two scrimmage yard totals of this quarter century among running backs, with 1,609 in 2002 and 1,593 in 2000.

His overall resume warrants more respect than he’s received from Pro Football Hall of Fame voters.

No Cincinnati running back in the last 25 seasons has more rushing yards (6,412), rushing touchdowns (49) and scrimmage yards (8,551) than Mixon.

Backups: Rudi Johnson, Giovani Bernard

Johnson has the top two single-season rushing yardage totals in franchise history, going for 1,454 in 2004 and 1,458 in 2005.

Bernard edges out Cedric Benson for the other spot based on his longer career and what he brought in the passing game. No Bengals running back in the last 25 years caught more than Bernard’s 342 passes.

Wide Receiver (6)

Starters: Ja’Marr Chase, A.J. Green, Chad Johnson

It would be hard to find a greater trio for any team over the last 25 years.

Chase, Green and Johnson have combined for 1,730 catches, 25,638 yards and 177 touchdowns, and Chase is just getting started.

Johnson is in the Ring of Honor, and Green and Chase are locks to join him one day.

Backups: Tee Higgins, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Tyler Boyd

That could be a quarter-century starting three for many other teams, such as the Bears, Browns, Jaguars, Jets, Raiders, Titans.

Tight End (3)

Starter: Jermaine Gresham

This might feel like a surprising pick given that it never felt as though Gresham lived up to his potential, but he has the best receiving numbers of any tight end this quarter century with 280 yards for 2,722 yards and 24 touchdowns.

And he was a better blocker than the other two who make the 53-man roster.

Backups: Tyler Eifert, C.J. Uzomah

Had Eifert been able to stay healthy, he’d be a clear choice as the starter, but he had nearly 100 fewer catches than Gresham (185) and nearly 600 fewer yards (2,152) to go along with matching him at 24 touchdowns.

Unlike the two first-rounders, Uzomah was a fifth-round pick who brought incredible value and locker room intangibles to go along with his 163 catches, 2,152 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Left Tackle (2)

Starter: Andrew Whitworth

Not only were Whitworth’s 164 starts 39 percent more than any other offensive lineman since 2000, he played at Pro Bowl level for the majority of his career before finally receiving his first selection in 2012.

He missed just eight games in 11 seasons.

Backup: Orlando Brown Jr.

He’s only been on the team for three years, but he’s played well. And there aren’t a lot of other left tackles who played longer with Whitworth holding down the position for so long.

Left Guard (2)

Starter: Clint Boling

Boling was really good for eight seasons and only missed six games after his rookie year.

Speaking loudest of all is the fact that the Bengals, who almost never give second contracts to interior linemen, rewarded Boling with a five-year, $26 million extension prior to the 2015 season.

Boling ranks 18th among all Bengals players in Pro Football Reference’s Approximate Value metric, well ahead of his backup on this list.

Backup: Eric Steinbach

The first pick of the second round of Marvin Lewis’ first draft in 2003, Steinbach started 63 of a possible 64 games in his four seasons with the Bengals.

Steinbach comes in at No. 33 on PFR’s value metric.

Center (2)

Starter: Richie Braham

One of the toughest players in team history, he played half a season on a broken leg, which the team classified as bone bruise.

He was 30 years old by the time he started being considered for this list in 2000, having been drafted in the third round in 1994.

Braham started 82 games from 2000-06.

Backup: Ted Karras

Like Brown, he hasn’t been here that long, but he’s played well enough in three seasons to move ahead of longer-tenured centers such as Trey Hopkins and Kyle Cook.

Right Guard (2)

Starter: Bobbie Williams

He played eight seasons and missed just three games from 2004-10 before breaking his ankle in 2011.

His longevity – and a sizable edge in PFR approximate value, ranking tied with running back Joe Mixon in 12th – gives him the slight nod as the starter.

Backup: Kevin Zeitler

Though he is going into his 14th season of an impressive career, Zeitler only spent five seasons in Cincinnati. But he was really good during that short period.

Right Tackle (2)

Starter: Willie Anderson

He’s the only right tackle in the team’s Ring of Honor, and he’s been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for five consecutive years, so this is an easy choice.

Backup: Andre Smith

His 104 games played trail only Whitworth and Anderson, and though Smith never quite lived up to his draft spot as the No. 6 overall pick, he was a solid right tackle in multiple stints with the team.

Defensive End (6)

Starters: Trey Hendrickson, Carlos Dunlap

With back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons and the NFL leader in the category in 2024, Hendrickson is a simple choice despite playing just four seasons for the team.

Dunlap’s 82.5 sacks are the most by any Cincinnati player during this quarter century.

Backups: Justin Smith, Michael Johnson, Sam Hubbard, Robert Geathers

Smith’s 43.5 sacks rank fourth this quarter century. He did that in seven seasons before signing with San Francisco, where he also recorded 43.5 sacks in seven seasons.

Johnson (40.5 sacks), Hubbard (38.5) and Geathers (34) were all good players and great leaders.

Defensive Tackle (4)

Starters: Geno Atkins, Domata Peko

What a luxury it was to have those two playing side by side for seven seasons from 2010-16.

With a little more postseason success, Atkins would have a shot at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His 75.5 sacks are the third most of any defensive tackle from 2000-present, trailing only Aaron Donald and Chris Jones.

Peko appeared in 171 of a possible 176 games during his 11 seasons with the Bengals.

He only had 18.5 sacks, but his job was to eat up blocks and ball carriers, and he was great at it.

Backups: D.J. Reader, John Thornton

Thornton played six seasons and Reader four, and both were really good players and fantastic leaders.

Linebacker (5)

Starters: Vontaze Burfict, Logan Wilson, Brian Simmons

Burfict was an incredible talent but lacked a shred of discipline.

Wilson has 11 interceptions and two fumble recoveries in just 68 games.

While Wilson and backup Germaine Pratt are known for their turnovers, Simmons was the original “all about the ball” Bengals linebacker with 10 interceptions, 12 forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and 17 sacks in his seven seasons.

Backups: Germaine Pratt, Vinny Rey

Pratt’s 604 tackles are tied with Burfict for the most this quarter century, and he has seven interceptions, five fumble recoveries and seven forced fumbles.

Special teams have to be taken into account when building a 53-man roster, so you can’t have a quarter century team with Rey.

But special teams ability aside, Rey also stepped up and played well when pressed into action due to an injury or Burfict suspension or ejection.

That, plus longevity, gives him the edge over Rey Maualuga and Takeo Spikes, who only played three seasons for the team during the quarter century.

Cornerback (6)

Starters: Leon Hall, Johnathan Joseph, Tory James

Hall’s 26 interceptions are the most by any Cincinnati player this quarter century, and he was playing at an elite level until tearing both Achilles a couple of years apart.

Joseph only played five seasons for the Bengals to kick off what would be an impressive 15-year career. He had 14 interceptions which were consistently accumulated over his five seasons.

James was 30 when he arrived in Cincinnati, where he spent his final four seasons. He still recorded 21 interceptions in that time and started 64 of a possible 64 games.

Backups: Adam Jones, Deltha O’Neal, Dre Kirkpatrick

Jones only had 12 interceptions in his eight seasons, but he brought an attitude and toughness that every defense needs, and he still found ways to produce turnovers with five forced fumbles and five recoveries.

He’s also the main kickoff and punt returner on this team.

O’Neal had a 10-interception season to lead the NFL in 2005, but he only had six more in his other three seasons with the team.

A 2012 first-round pick, Kirkpatrick played 99 games in eight seasons.

Safety (4)

Starters: Reggie Nelson, Jessie Bates

Nelson was great against everybody, but he played his best against Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers and was a big reason the Bengals beat them the few times they did.

Bates will long be remembered as the guy that got away. He was terrific the instant he arrived and recorded 14 interceptions with countless other big plays in his five seasons.

Backups: Vonn Bell, George Iloka

Bell had a shorter career than guys such as George Iloka and Shawn Williams, but he was an instant leader and a big reason for turning the team around before age caught up with him.

In just 65 games with the team, Bell had six interceptions, nine forced fumbles, five recoveries and 5.5 sacks.

Iloka played well above his fifth-round draft selection while appearing in 83 games with 76 starts.

Kicker (1)

Shayne Graham

Most fans will remember his big misses in the playoff game against the Jets and one in a key loss to the Steelers, but Graham his 177 made field goals are the most of the quarter century, and his 86.8 percent success rate also is tops, ahead of Randy Bullock (84.9), Mike Nugent (81.8) and Even McPherson (81.7).

Punter (1)

Kevin Huber

The easiest decision on the entire team. Huber played 14 seasons and is one of only two punters in Bengals history (and the only one of this quarter century) to make a Pro Bowl.

Long Snapper (1)

Clark Harris

See Huber. Harris played 14 seasons for the Bengals and is the only long snapper in team history to make a Pro Bowl.

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