As we inch closer to the start of the regular season -- and to fantasy draft parties -- we're breaking down the fantasy projections this week of the Cincinnati Bengals' top players. We begin with the quarterback position, and the odds Andy Dalton has a more productive year for fantasy owners in 2016:
Andy Dalton
ESPN Fantasy Projection: 3,940 yards, 25 TDs
Over or under: Let's go under on the yards here and over on the touchdowns. If Dalton hits the yards ESPN's fantasy team is projecting for him this season, he will have the second-most prolific passing year of his six-season career. Only once has he thrown for more than 4,000 yards (2013). Don't be surprised if he fails to get to 3,940 this season because of Cincinnati's anticipated renewed emphasis on the running game. With tight end Tyler Eifert potentially missing time at the start of the season and the Bengals still searching for A.J. Green's complements at receiver, this could be a year Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard get heavily involved in the ground game. Still, don't be surprised if Dalton gets the Bengals in the end zone regularly. Before his season-ending Week 14 thumb injury last season, Dalton ranked sixth among quarterbacks with 25 passing touchdowns. He'll go well beyond that this season, even if it means distributing some of those scores to his running backs. Dalton will generally be more productive in 2016, building off his strong 2015.
