Roster And Draft Class Breakdown: Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals were an offensive line away from winning the Super Bowl. With most of their core returning, intuition would tell you that have a good chance to replicate a lot of the good things that they did. The AFC North is shaping out to be a division that the Bengals should be able to win again. Can the Bengals get back? Did they address the biggest roster needs? Let’s break it all down.
Offense
There shouldn’t be many problems here. Joe Burrow is back with the best receiver trio in the NFL - Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. Chase showed that LSU magic he had with Burrow in college and it helped pull vault that offense to greatness. Chase also won rookie of the year. They lost CJ Uzomah in free agency at tight end, and signed Hayden Hurt to replace him. He’s been fine overall, but as a first round pick he’s been disappointing. With no real competition in front of him, he should be able to flourish now that he’s back in the AFC North. Hurst is was drafted by the Ravens.
Running back Joe Mixon is still only 25 years old. He may be a bit overrated, but he had a very good year with 1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns. Cincy knew the biggest need was the offensive line and they spent money to make it better. Jonah Williams and Jackson Carman are the incumbents on the left side. Carman, the hometown kid, should be better coming into his second year. Center Ted Karras, right guard Alex Kappa, and right tackle La’el Collins were each free agency acquisitions. Karras came from the Patriots, Kappa from the Bucs, and Collins from the Cowboys after his release. The lone offensive draft pick was another guard, Cordell Volson from North Dakota State. He was drafted in the fourth round and has experience playing tackle as well, but will most likely play guard at the NFL level. He could give Carman a run for his money at left guard. Burrow was the most sacked quarterback in football during the 2021 season, not a good formula to win games. The new big guys should take care of that problem.
Defense
The defensive depth got bolstered in the offseason. We’ll start with the secondary this time because free safety Jessie Bates III is looking for a new deal, and will not play on the franchise tag. Vonn Bell remains the strong safety and it looks like he is content playing on his deal. The Bengals drafted Daxton Hill in the first round from Michigan. He was listed as a free safety, but he played a lot of slot corner as well. If Bates refuses to play, Hill could get thrusted into the fire. Tycen Anderson is also an option. The fifth round pick from Toledo has played both safety spots and ran a 4.36 40 yard dash. Chidobe Awuzie and Eli Apple return as the corners. Apple notoriously gave up the Super Bowl winning touchdown to Cooper Kupp. In round two, Cam Taylor-Britt was drafted from Nebraska. He had 11 pass break ups in 12 games for the Cornhuskers in his final season. He may not start right away, but could carve out a role as a nickel before eventually becoming an outside corner.
Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt, and Akeem Davis-Gaither are the linebackers in the old school 4-3 set. Pratt in the middle had an amazing postseason including the game sealing pick against the Raiders in the Wild Card. Linebacker depth was not addressed.
Finally, the defensive line. From right to left, Trey Hendrickson has an amazing year with 14 sacks. B.J Hill and D.J Reader are still in the interior with Sam Hubbard on the left side. Hubbard is coming off a 7.5 sack campaign and he is locked up for the next four years. The defensive tackle depth is lacking, so Zachary Carter was picked in round three from Florida. He is versatile, but is best known for bringing pressure inside. Carter had 17 sacks at Florida, 7.5 coming last season. He could be a subpackage player until he can earn a starting role. The same can be said about seventh round pick Jeffrey Gunter from Coastal Carolina. He was listed as a bandit in college because of his versatility, but is viewed as an edge rusher at the NFL level.
Draft Misses
The roster was mostly in good shape, but more should have been done to address the linebacker and tight end depth. The inside backer depth especially is lacking, and the outside guys barley sacked the QB a year ago. Hayden Hurst at tight end is a good short term solution, but won’t help long term. They still have Thaddeus Moss, son of Randy, who has yet to play an NFL regular season down. He also played with Burrow at LSU. Watch out for him. He’s the best tight end on the roster and nobody knows it yet.
Projection As Of Right Now
The division is a weak one. It should be a battle between Cincinnati and Cleveland. Baltimore can’t get out of their own way and Pittsburgh will have growing pains with a new QB. The Bengals should be able to have a 13 win season, secure the division, and get back to the playoffs to make another Super Bowl run. If they get to the big game again, they have a very good chance to win.
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