Overall Fantasy Inpact: Average

Offensive Outlook: Perhaps no team is more in flux heading into the season than the Bengals, and it reflects in their fantasy prospects. The Chad Johnson fiasco is looming, just as Coach Marvin Lewis is finally getting tough. Does that mean a trade? Or a holdout? Or just some lingering bad mojo?

But that’s just the beginning. There are all kinds of injury issues at running back, and the release of Chris Henry leaves untested rookies at the backup receiver spots. All this means that the Bengals might not turn out to be the sure-thing scoring machine they have been the last few years.

QUARTERBACK: The only thing that could derail Carson Palmer from being one of the best fantasy QB’s would be if Chad Johnson weren’t on the field. Otherwise, you’ve got a guy who has averaged about 4,000 yards and almost 30TDs over the past three years. You should be looking at him in the third round if you haven’t filled the position.

It’s a good thing Palmer is durable (no games missed the last three years), because the back-up situation is a mess. No one here (Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jeff Rowe, Jordan Palmer) should be considered as a pick-up if Carson Palmer gets hurt, at least until they prove otherwise.

RUNNING BACKS: We’ve got a mess here. It starts with Rudi Johnson. Can you write last season’s disaster (2.9 yards per carry, no TD’s until Week 12) off to his hamstring problems? Or is the guy that put up 1,400 yards and 12 TDs per year from ‘04-06 gone for good? I’d be cautious and try and get Johnson as a number 2 fantasy back rather than relying on him as a go-to guy.

Things get more confusing after that. Kenny Watson did well as a fill-in last year (2 130-yards games and 7 TD’s), but he’s 30 and the team sees him more as an excellent receiver. That leaves former first-rounder Chris Perry and last year’s second-rounder Kenny Irons, if either of them can actually make it onto the field without being hurt. Either would provide an explosive option if they could live up to their pre-injury potential. Watch the preseason closely to diagnose this positional battle.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: If Johnson suits up as a Bengal in Week 1, don’t let his off-the-field craziness distract you from what matters: his production. Many perceived last year to be an off-year for Chad, and yet he had a career-high in yards and his 8 TDs were on par with his career totals. He’s still a top 5-receiver.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh managed career-highs in catches, yards, and scores, and many labeled him as a better fantasy option than Johnson. But there are warning signs in the numbers. After a blistering start including 10 TDs in his first 8 games, T.J. caught just two more scores in the second half. And his yards per catch was at a ridiculously low 10.2. Houshmanzadeh is on the edge of the Top 10 fantasy receivers because of his red-zone efficiency, but don’t get carried away further than that.

The uncertainty over Johnson and Henry forced the Bengals to use early draft picks on Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell. They’re immediate second-stringers and will get a lot of single coverage, but don’t expect much from them early if Johnson gets his trade wish.

The Bengals were the NFL’s only team whose tight ends failed to catch a TD last year. The arrival of Ben Utecht from the Colts should rectify that, but the wide-outs will still get the bulk of the action.