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The Cincinnati Bengals were a playoff team thanks to a balanced offense between the passing and ground game all season long. A.J. Green remains their top receiver, hauling in 69 catches for 1,041 yards and six touchdowns despite missing three games. The numbers have been there for three years for Green, who has had almost 100 catches and 11 touchdowns in each of the previous two campaigns. The passing game can produce big numbers for the Bengals, but a question has to be asked - what would happen if Green was to suffer a major injury that costs him a significant amount of the season?
BUY
Giovani Bernard, RB – Bernard is the better receiver than Jeremy Hill, and he should see a little more action and a boost in targets if Green is injured. Bernard is already considered a solid RB2/RB3 so if Green misses a few games then Bernard only really gets a slight boost.
HOLD
Jeremy Hill, RB - Hill is the lead dog in the Bengals backfield, but the mix should not change between Hill and Bernard aside from possibly a few more targets for Bernard. Hill will remain a solid borderline RB1 for fantasy purposes.
Tyler Eifert, TE - Not much is expected of the tight end for the Bengals this year, even if Green missed a lengthy amount of time.
SELL
Andy Dalton, QB – Dalton can manage the offense for the Bengals effectively, but clearly his upside goes way down without a Pro Bowl caliber WR1. If Green misses a good amount of the season, Dalton drops to the bottom of the QB2 list.
ADD
Mohamed Sanu, WR and Marvin Jones, WR - Cincinnati has to turn to these two guys to be their starters should Green be sidelined for a significant amount of time. Look no further than Weeks 6, 7 and 8 last season, where Sanu was the leading receiver with 33 targets, resulting in 19 catches, 199 yards and a touchdown. Do not sleep on Marvin Jones, however, as he had double-digit touchdowns in 2013 and was pushing for the starting job over Sanu before a preseason injury last year. Both WR2 candidates would be starting in the event that Green loses significant time, and both would see a huge boost in value.
DROP
None. Cincinnati's offense is productive enough for everyone to remain solid and productive performers, even if the overall production sees a slight dip without A.J. Green
Questions, suggestions and comments are always welcome to pasquino@footballguys.com.