Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor | Inductees

The Bengals all-time leading rusher was known to make opposing defensive coordinators wince during pre-game warmups when they could feel his brute strength and chip-on-the-shoulder purpose as he merely ran past them. He has authored the three biggest rushing games in Bengals history, including the 278-yard masterpiece on just 22 carries against Denver's No. 2 rush defense that allowed no Bengals pass completions in the last three quarters. The Oct. 22, 2000 game marked the first Bengals win in Paul Brown Stadium, where the improbable was good enough to break Walter Payton's 23-year-old NFL record and came just three years after Dillon broke Jim Brown's 40-year-old rookie single game rushing record with 246 yards against the Oilers at Riverfront Stadium. They are two of the 14 biggest rushing games in NFL history and only he and O.J. Simpson appear on that list twice. In that remarkable 2000 season he became the first Bengal to rush for more than 1,400 yards on 4.6 yards per carry for an offense that averaged 4.9 yards per pass.

Esiason is regarded as one of the greatest locker-room leaders in Bengals history. In 1986, he earned his first of three Pro Bowl bids with the Bengals while leading the NFL's most productive offense. In 1988, he led the NFL with a 97.4 passer rating and helped the Bengals win the AFC Championship. That year, Esiason was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the Pro Football Writers of America and the Associated Press. He again was the NFL passing leader in 1989 as Cincinnati claimed another division title.

Generally regarded as the greatest right tackle of his era and the bookend tackle to Anthony Munoz on the all-time franchise team, he went to four Pro Bowls as a powerful presence on the field and in the locker room. Studious and savage, he combined a massive body with ballet feet to confound the greatest defensive ends. While he played 15 games against Hall of Fame pass rushers and allowed one sack, his run blocking was just as legendary. From 1996 to 2001, when the Bengals had seven different starting quarterbacks, Anderson helped running back Corey Dillon average 1,252 yards in those six seasons. Indestructibly reliable, he played all 16 games ten times. Only Munoz with 185 games played more than the 181 he played on the Bengals front during a stretch Dillon and Rudi Johnson put up the top five Bengals rushing seasons in history. He remains an influencer in the game as a coach and adviser for high school and college players through his Willie Anderson Offensive Line Academy.

Ken Anderson's 16 seasons are the most by a Bengals player. The four-time Pro Bowler played 192 games in a career highlighted by leading the Bengals to their first Super Bowl while winning the NFL MVP and passing title in 1981. Anderson is one of five players in NFL history to win at least four league passing titles, and the only one to win consecutive passing titles in two different decades — 1974-75 and 1981-82.

Anthony Muñoz played 13 seasons (1980-92) for the Bengals, and put together a dominant career in that included a team-record 11 Pro Bowls and 11 All-Pro nods. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998 — his first year of eligibility — and is widely credited for helping to define the art of playing offensive tackle in the modern NFL.