‘The Bachelor’ rankings: Where Ben Zorn, Josh Murray, Ben Higgins, Jared Haibon stand

At this point, we’re starting to feel like there is almost just as much speculation around who is going to be the next Bachelor as there is who is going to win “The Bachelorette.” Why is that? Blame it being fairly predictable first and foremost that Shawn Booth and Nick Viall are Kaitlyn Bristowe’s favorites, and then that this is the time of year where production starts to really solicit suggestions from viewers.

We’ve been ranking contenders for a few weeks now, but here is what we feel, at least for now, to be the main frontrunners. It’s possible that this could all change easily, though, depending on what happens in the next couple of episodes.

5. Jared Haibon – We’ve made our appreciation for Loveman no secret on the site. However, he may be a little too atypical for the main show personality-wise, and could be more of a contender for “Bachelor in Paradise” or something else with an ensemble.

4. Shawn Booth – Our interest in Shawn as Bachelor waned quite a bit after this past episode. He gets so emotionally invested in all of the process that we’re really not sure he could handle trying to keep a dozen or so relationships going all at the same time. He seems better suited for trying to be with Kaitlyn Bristowe.

3. Ben Higgins – A very likable guy, but probably needs to make more an impression over the next episode or so if he really wants to have a shot at this. He could just benefit being one of the best candidates out of the people who are around.

2. Josh Murray – You cannot ignore the social-media buzz for Josh at the moment. He is sort of in the same spot that Arie Luyendyk Jr. was in last year, where it felt for a while like he could end up being the lead; however, producers instead went for a more recent choice.

1. Ben Zorn – Maybe this is not the most common opinion, but we still feel like he’s offering everything producers want, and he also fits the mold of what the show typically has in their Bachelor. Maybe he did go home pretty early, but at the same time both Jake Pavelka and Juan Pablo were eliminated around the same point in their seasons. Granted, neither one of them became a great Bachelor, but that shouldn’t be held against him.

If you’ve missed it, head over here if you want to listen to our most-recent “Bachelorette” Podcast discussing all of this and more! You can also sign up here to get some further TV news on everything we cover, courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)