Taking Stock of Cincinnati Bengals Ahead of Week 7 Bye

Going into the Week 7 bye, the Cincinnati Bengals sit at 6-0, deserving of all the praise and historical comparisons that come alongside such a feat.

It hasn't been an easy road for these Bengals, either, not with a trip out west, divisional clashes and encounters with playoff hopefuls such as the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills.

Yet these Bengals seem all grown up, the architect of the roster's construction getting to sit back and watch the pieces do the work. Andy Dalton and Co. are healthy and firing on all cylinders, perhaps touting the highest stock in the league this side of the New England Patriots or Carolina Panthers.

Within, let's take a stock gauge at key areas as the Bengals take a week off.

Stock Up: Passing Options Beyond the Top Two

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Mohamed Sanu and others continue to find room to contribute.

It's not a surprise to see A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert top the team's receiving stat sheet heading into the bye week. Green has 35 grabs for 531 yards and three scores, with Eifert right behind at 28 for 342 and six.

Yet with the way the Bengals have been passing more than running through six games, Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu haven't exactly been hurting for chances to contribute, either.

Jones once again looks like the clear-cut No. 2 wideout after missing 2014. He's got 24 catches for 321 yards and three scores. Sanu's production has been a bit spottier, but he's turned 16 grabs into 260 yards. He's a big-play threat after the catch with a healthy 16.3 per-catch average.

Instead of who would emerge as the third and fourth options standing as something of a mystery, Jones and Sanu have both gotten in on the action at a consistent clip.

Stock Down: The Ground Game

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Cincinnati hasn't needed to lean on the ground game just yet.

When one aspect of an offense surges, the other tends to sag behind.

This is the case with the once-dominant Cincinnati rushing attack led by Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill. The former has 427 yards and two scores with a 5.5 per-carry average, but the latter has three fewer attempts with 232 yards and five scores on a woeful 3.1 per-carry average.

It's never wise to stress over numbers for long, but Hill's averages look concerning, as does the tape when he looks more hesitant than decisive.

Odds are the Bengals will get back to more of a run-first approach out of the bye, but it's still a downward trend right now that observers would be wise to watch closely.

Stock Up: Young Corners

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Darqueze Dennard continues to come up big for the Bengals when asked.

With cornerback Leon Hall on the injury report every so often and the team refusing to add a veteran presence at the position as it had in past years, much pressure landed on the shoulders of Dre Kirkpatrick and Darqueze Dennard this year.

So far, the duo has responded mostly well.

Make no mistake, Kirkpatrick and Dennard have given up their fair share of big plays this year, but it's been an overall impressive body of work. Kirkpatrick is new to an every-down role and often sees a healthy amount of targets as teams go away from Hall and Adam Jones.

Dennard steps in for his first real taste of action as a pro this year in certain packages and has mostly held up well, even picking off a pass in last weekend's trip to Buffalo.

It's a coming-of-age position for the Bengals and their former first-round picks. It's also a great sign as a grueling season marches onward.

Stock Down: Defensive Fundamentals

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The Cincinnati defense continues to allow chunk plays six weeks into the season.

To be blunt, the Bengals have some serious issues to clean up on the defensive side of the ball.

Each game this year has seen the unit give up big play after big play due to either broken contains, miscommunications or simple missed tackles.

The offense has been able to compensate so far, but there's going to come a time when the defense will need to step up and carry the team to a victory.

Right now, it's hard to see how that would work. Due to the lapses, the Bengals rank 23rd in total defense (370.7 yards allowed per game) with 261.5 passing and 109.5 rushing yards allowed per game.

To be fair, the unit ranks among the top 10 in terms of points allowed per game at 20.3, a good bend-but-don't-break note. But teams aren't having any problems attacking lanes created by a good pass rush, nor are they having issues picking up chunk plays through the air and on the ground.

It's perhaps the focal point of improvement for the Bengals during the bye.

Stock Up: Health and Versatility

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A healthy team goes a long way in the NFL.

The Bengals are the healthiest team in the league. 

Just look at a chart provided by the Wall Street Journal, which reveals the team has yet to make a change to the 53-man roster it started the season with.

For this reason, the Bengals continue to execute to perfection and can beat any competition in any way they so choose. While the lack of a run-first approach is something of a big talking point, the fact the Bengals are versatile enough to sit at 6-0 despite it says quite a lot about this team.

It starts at quarterback, of course. Bernard wasn't shy about praising Dalton going into the bye when speaking with ESPN.com's Coley Harvey.

"I wouldn't say I see a different one," Bernard said. "I see a more comfortable one. He's out there just making plays and distributing the ball. He has really done a great job this entire season not forcing anything. He's really done a great job, and we're just following his lead."

Healthy, comfortable and versatile—quite the symbiotic relationship—has Cincinnati's stock soaring going into the bye. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and are accurate as of October 20. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.