Whose stock is rising, falling on the Cincinnati Bengals?

The next stop for the Cincinnati Bengals is the regular-season opener against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland.

The Bengals (1-2) wrapped up the 2025 preseason with a 41-7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts Aug. 23 at Paycor Stadium before an announced crowd of 64,216. With many of the team's starters not dressed for the game, the contest served as a last-ditch opportunity for some players to earn a roster spot ahead of this coming week's cuts and the naming of the 53-man roster.

A lot of those decisions will be determined based on what preceded the loss to the Colts. Some players rose to the occasion and will enter the regular season with some individual momentum, but that's not the case for everyone.

Bengals Ring of Honor Boomer Esiason Boomer Esiason says Bengals expect him to pay for his hotel during Ring of Honor weekend

Bengals tailgaiting Indianapolis Colts See photos as Bengals fans turn out to tailgate for final preseason game vs. Colts

Others seemed to offer the club and head coach Zac Taylor more questions than answers by the end of camp and preseason matchups.

Cincinnati.com breaks down some of the critical players and positions coming out of the 2025 training camp:

Stock rising: These Bengals stood out during training camp, preseason

Let's weigh the positives and bright spots first. And some names don't get a mention here. Take quarterback Joe Burrow for instance. He saw his preseason snap count increase, which he wanted and lobbied for this past offseason, and he's emerging from the preseason in good health. But we know what Burrow is about, and expect him to be a standout, MVP-caliber player. Here are some of the players who came into camp looking to make a positive impression and did:

• Mitchell Tinsley, wide receiver − Mitchell Tinsley, the undrafted wide receiver out of Penn State, broke into the NFL with the Washington Commanders, and he's grabbed attention this training camp. In preseason game action, Tinsley had six catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Against his former club, he did most of that damage in the Aug. 18 victory against Washington. After the game, Burrow stumped for Tinsley, which says a lot. Taylor didn't tip his hand as to whether or not Tinsley was a lock for the 53-man roster, but he was clearly pleased with the player. "I want all these guys to continue to be consistent all the way through the (finish)," Taylor said. "He’s had a tremendous camp up to this point. Just continue to work hard. We’ll just keep going from there. But really impressed with again, all the things that we’ve stated in here before. You got to see live and in color on Monday night."

• Kris Jenkins Jr., defensive tackle − Defensive coordinator Al Golden might have caught a few media members off guard when he said on Aug. 21 that Kris Jenkins Jr. had arguably "the best camp of anybody, regardless of position." But Golden would know, and he's in the position to make that claim. "I watched what you guys watched last year. Unbeknownst to me, he missed a lot of camp with an arm issue and he was behind from the get-go," Golden said when asked to clarify his stance on Jenkins. "So, he was behind the eight-ball and I don’t think he was either 100%, nor was he happy with the way it went for him. He’s worked really hard to remedy that and take his game to the next level. And he’s done that for us. I’m really excited for him, his versatility. He’s become a better pass rusher on early downs. We’re giving him the freedom to do that. He’s strong. He brings energy. He’s a horrible basketball player. When we shoot, he’s awful. But he’s really done a nice job in terms of that." Jenkins has five tackles and five assists in preseason action, plus .5 "stuffs."
• Charlie Jones, wide reciever − Charlie Jones forced himself into the limelight in the early stages of camp and stayed there. Aside from his continued versatility, he appeared to be on the same page with Burrow early and often. For the preseason, he had seven catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Like Tinsley, he enjoyed the game at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.

• Evan McPherson, kicker − The scrutiny of Evan McPherson seems to have eased, and he silenced the conversation through performance. His 2024 season was inconsistent and ended prematurely due to injury, so the onus was on him to bounce back. He's done just that. McPherson kicks became prominent moments during training camp, usually at the end of practices. He often converted, and he certainly converted in-game. In preseason action, McPherson went 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and 8-for-8 on point-after attempts. He knocked in field goals from 54 yards out against Washington, and 36 and 51 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles. Against the Colts, McPherson was apparently feeling so good that he wanted to attempt what would have been a 66 or 67-yard field goal prior to the Bengals letting the game clock bleed out on the first half.

Shaky stock: Bengals question marks, areas of concern

• Jordan Battle, safety − This isn't all about Jordan Battle but his missed opportunity to bring the Commanders' Jayden Daniels down on the quarterback's 14-yard scamper to the end zone on Aug. 18 was emblematic of what Bengals fans and pundits are concerned about with this team. A lowlight of the preseason, to be sure. And sure, it's August, and at least Battle stepped up to the microphones and recording devices to answer for the play. But that was really the play that set off alarm bells about where this defensive unit was ahead of the 2025 season. Golden explained that he and Taylor agreed to keep the defense in vanilla looks so as not to give too much away about how they'll actually play in 2025. Has there been year-over-year improvement defensively? We won't know for sure until the regular-season opener Sept. 7 at Cleveland.

• The right guard position − This has been another area of concern for Cincinnati. And we can accept that it's not always easy blocking for Burrow when goes into full-on improvisation mode but Lucas Patrick and Cody Ford (who have both dealt with injury concerns) have left plenty to be desired at their position. There are screen grabs and training camp footage that speak to that.
• The run defense − Again, the Bengals didn't want to give too much away defensively in preseason. The hope there being that not giving their early-season opponents all the information might give them some kind of competitive advantage. Still, stopping the run was problematic. The Eagles gashed Cincinnati for 132 yards on the ground while the Commanders went for 185. For what it's worth, Indianapolis was piling on the running yards with 123 yards with the fourth quarter still to be played.
• Desmond Ridder, quarterback − Desmond Ridder, formerly the season-opening starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, came to Bengals training with a chance to build on his legacy as a championship-level quarterback at the University of Cincinnati, where he led the Bearcats in 2021 to a historic berth in the hyper-competitive, four-team College Football Playoff. Ridder captained and started for the Bengals Aug. 23 against the Colts and it didn't go great (8-for-20, one interception). The offense sputtered and he was picked off once, although he plunged forward on a fourth-and-goal to score Cincinnati's only touchdown of the day. Even though Taylor long ago ruled out the possibility of a competition between Ridder and Jake Browning to be the team's backup to Burrow, some still wondered if it was possible. If you had any doubt about that entering Saturday's preseason finale, you shouldn't now.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Whose stock is rising, falling on the Cincinnati Bengals?