The Bengals still don’t have much room in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but one current star is already being treated like a future lock.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell broke down the league’s active players into five buckets - In, On The Cusp, Keep It Up, Work To Do, and Missing Out - and Ja’Marr Chase came out as Cincinnati’s strongest candidate by a wide margin. Barnwell placed Chase in the Keep It Up group, while Joe Burrow, Dexter Lawrence II, and Tee Higgins landed in Work To Do.
That tracks with how Chase’s career has started. Through his first five seasons, he ranks second in NFL history in receptions with 423 and receiving yards with 6,784, and he is tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns with 54. He is also the only player in league history to open his first five seasons with at least 500 receptions and 50 receiving TDs.
Barnwell didn’t hold back on the praise either.
"Chase has been every bit as good as Justin Jefferson, his former teammate at LSU," Barnwell wrote. "But as Chase entered the NFL 12 months after Jefferson, his résumé is one year shorter.
The 2021 No. 5 pick has started his career with five straight Pro Bowl appearances and an Offensive Rookie of the Year award, and has been a first-team All-Pro each of the past two seasons. He's still only 26, and it would be no surprise if Chase had already clinched his spot in Canton before turning 30."
Burrow’s Hall of Fame path looks different. Barnwell said the quarterback has the kind of production that belongs in the conversation, but injuries are the problem.
Burrow has missed significant parts of three seasons - 2020, 2023 and 2025 - and Barnwell pointed to that as a real concern for a player who has only been in the league six years. He also noted that the Bengals have not reached the playoffs since 2022, though Burrow’s Super Bowl appearance already gives him a major piece of the résumé.
"The most-accurate passer in NFL history is a Hall of Fame lock if he captures the ultimate prize for Cincinnati (a Super Bowl) and plays roughly 10-12 more seasons."
Barnwell said health is just as important for Dexter Lawrence II as he enters his eighth season, and he said Higgins would need to put together some huge seasons - and likely win a Super Bowl with Burrow - to build a strong enough statistical case down the line.
As things stand, Cincinnati’s Hall of Fame list remains small. The Bengals’ only Hall of Famers are Paul Brown, Anthony Muñoz, and Ken Riley. Terrell Owens and Charlie Joiner also played for Cincinnati during their Hall of Fame careers, but they’re better known for what they did elsewhere.
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