By more popular demand than I ever would've anticipated, the Bengals thread is back - although given their success this year without one maybe I shouldn't do this. Zac Taylor was just signed to an extension through 2026. His play calling can be maddening at times (he ran when he should've thrown in OT against the 49ers and threw when he should've run in the second half Sunday), but he's completely changed the culture in the locker room while convincing ownership to spend in free agency and finally has the results to show for it. No other team would've hired him or kept him around after 6-25-1 (and I certainly wanted him gone), but the Bengals' trademark patience has been rewarded.
After an up-and-down rookie season that ended with him writhing in pain, Joe Burrow lived up to his status as a #1 overall pick, leading the league in completion percentage and yards per attempt with a completely repaired left knee. He was able to make a ton of plays off-script (and god knows he had to with this OL) and the knee looks to be completely fine now. He sprained his MCL in his other knee Sunday, but there's plenty of time to rehab that. Of course, it certainly helps to have Ja'Marr Chase as the two picked up right where they left off at LSU. After some overblown issues in camp and the preseason with trouble catching the ball, he set the league on fire and put up the best rookie receiving season since Randy Moss in 1998. I'm pretty sure they made the right choice regarding him vs. Penei Sewell. Tee Higgins had an inconsistent first half of the year as he battled a shoulder injury which caused him to miss two games, but came on bigtime down the stretch (55-954-6 in his last 10 games including playoffs and catching a nice 69% of his targets in that span) and was a top-five receiver by DYAR while Tyler Boyd was as reliable as ever in the slot despite taking a back seat to Chase and Higgins. All four are under contract through at least 2023 and Boyd is the oldest one at 28. It goes without saying, but this is going to be an elite passing attack for years. TE CJ Uzomah had his best season coming off a torn Achilles and heads to free agency at 29. I'm skeptical of giving almost anyone a big third contract (Geno Atkins' and Carlos Dunlap's third deals were disasters and they were much better players) but given he's an unquestioned locker room leader, I'd be fine with a two-year deal.
As anyone who watched this team for a second could figure out, the giant elephant in the room is the offensive line. A year after Burrow's season ended prematurely from bad protection, he took another 70 sacks in 20 games. Given that they led more often than not and weren't playing catch-up all the time, that's really hard to do. I was really hoping the coaching switch from Jim Turner (probably the worst position coach in the league) to Frank Pollack would pay huge dividends and it did to some extent in the run game, but protection remains a glaring issue. It's incredible a franchise that developed four very good to great tackles in 15 years (Willie Anderson, Levi Jones, Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith) has had such a tough time finding them the last few years. 2019 first-round LT Jonah Williams had a decent season, but his limited athleticism caps his ceiling and I could see a move to G/RT if they find a starting LT at #31, which is quite possible given the plethora of options that should be available. LG Quinton Spain was also solid, although he'll be 31 by next season and a repeat performance may be unlikely. After that is where it starts to get ugly. C Trey Hopkins is quite the success story having made 67 starts and getting a nice extension after going undrafted and proving himself as an above-average player, but he tore his ACL the last game of last season and looked terrible this year. Given he'll be 30 by camp, he's a pretty clear cut candidate. The RG position was even worse, as neither 2020 sixth-rounder Hakeem Adeniji (predictably) nor 2021 second-rounder Jackson Carman (highly disappointingly) could handle the spot. Carman was a five-star recruit who started two years at LT for Clemson, but came in with maturity issues which manifested themselves as he showed up to camp out of shape and never got on track. He's also from the area, so going back home might've been the last thing he needed. They're stuck with him though and need to hope he can learn from his struggles and a full NFL offseason can help him get back to the player he was in college. Given they'll likely need four new starters, it would really be nice if he could be one of them and play up to his potential. RT Riley Reiff did a decent job but was lost for the season late in the year with an ankle injury. Replacement Isaiah Prince was, well, Isaiah Prince. I could see them bringing Reiff back on another one-year deal, but the injury and his age (33) means they should definitely also be looking for an upgrade. Given they've really started spending in free agency the last two years, they need to bring in at least one quality starter (Brandon Scherff?) through there and probably two.
After three absolutely horrendous years, the first under Marvin Lewis and the last two under Taylor, the defense was finally a respectable unit again as their big spending sprees from the last two offseasons paid off in spades. I questioned the Trey Hendrickson signing as it seemed he just had a big contract year on a team always playing with the lead and wanted them to bring Carl Lawson back instead, but he was a monster with 17.5 sacks including the playoffs and a commensurate amount of pressure. It seems like this is who he is now and should have a couple more years like this having just turned 27. After going down early last season, DJ Reader (their big splash in 2020) was worth every penny and might be the best run defender in the league. He almost single-handedly won the Titans game as he blew up a ton of plays and kept Henry from getting going at all before following it up with another great game in the Super Bowl. Sam Hubbard has developed into a very good player opposite Hendrickson and should be a solid bet for similar production going forward, while Larry Ogunjobi made good on a one-year, prove-it deal at DT before injuring his foot in the WC game. They also acquired BJ Hill from the Giants before the season for lost cause Billy Price and he provided excellent rotational play with 5.5 sacks from the interior. Both Ogunjobi and Hill are headed to free agency and I'd hope they can at least get one back. The pass rush should also get a boost from third-rounder Joseph Ossai, who was injured during the preseason and never played a snap.
The Bengals finally seem to have found a solid linebacker unit after years and years of mid-round busts and failed veteran stopgaps. Logan Wilson with his knack for turnovers and Germaine Pratt with his instincts both took big steps forward while Markus Bailey is a solid third LB. They also get back Akeem Davis-Gaither who can be a weapon against speedier offenses, as he played a great game against the Ravens before going down a couple weeks later. Hopefully the loss of Al Golden who took the Notre Dame DC job won't be felt too much, as they'll probably have to go outside the organization for his replacement.
The secondary was another area that was reconstructed the last two years and the results were excellent. Trae Waynes continued to not be able to get on the field (and wasn't any good when he was) and will assuredly be cut, but almost every other move paid off. They let William Jackson go to Washington and replaced him for the same cost with Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton, as Awuzie played at a shutdown level while Hilton fortified the slot. Both are still well in their primes and can hopefully replicate those seasons. Opposite Awuzie, they picked up Eli Apple off the scrap heap and developed him into a solid starter. It'll be interesting to see what they do with him in free agency, as he may have priced himself out of what they want to pay and his perpetual Twitter beefs with everyone under the sun are kind of the opposite of the culture they're building. At safety, Vonn Bell can get lost in coverage at times but still had a good year overall and is their leader on defense. The big offseason question lies with Jessie Bates. The Bengals almost always extend the guys they want to going into the final year of their rookie deals, but Bates hired super-agent David Mulugheta and the two sides were unable to come to an agreement. After playing at an elite level in 2019-20, Bates had an uncharacteristically bad first half of the year before turning it on in the second half and was spectacular in the playoffs. I would hope they franchise him and then can work out an extension, as he'd get a ton of money on the open market having still just turned 25 in a few days.
After having weak-legged kickers seemingly forever, the Bengals struck gold with Evan McPherson who's probably the closest thing to Justin Tucker. I'd like them to go in a different direction at punter, as Kevin Huber didn't have a great year, topped it off with a rough postseason and he'll be 37 next year. That'll be much easier said than done though, as he's a lifelong Cincinnatian and has been with ST Coach Darrin Simmons (who goes back to Marvin Lewis' first year) his entire career. The ageless Clark Harris is still a perfect long snapper (no unplayable snaps in his 13-year Bengals career) and should do this as long as he wants.
Obviously the end really sucked, but this was as good a season as anyone could've asked for and the franchise is in very good hands for the first time in a while. Mike Brown has taken a back seat as his daughter Katie Blackburn runs the day-to-day operations and they've finally participated in free agency. Now comes the test of whether they can sustain success as they play a first-place schedule (Chiefs, Titans, Cowboys) while picking 31st every round. They play the AFC East which will be tough, although they get the NFC South too which they could sweep looking at it right now. It may be tough to win the division again as the Ravens should be healthier and get to play a last-place schedule with much more draft capital, but the Bengals should be in the playoffs again and have a real shot at getting back to the Super Bowl.
After an up-and-down rookie season that ended with him writhing in pain, Joe Burrow lived up to his status as a #1 overall pick, leading the league in completion percentage and yards per attempt with a completely repaired left knee. He was able to make a ton of plays off-script (and god knows he had to with this OL) and the knee looks to be completely fine now. He sprained his MCL in his other knee Sunday, but there's plenty of time to rehab that. Of course, it certainly helps to have Ja'Marr Chase as the two picked up right where they left off at LSU. After some overblown issues in camp and the preseason with trouble catching the ball, he set the league on fire and put up the best rookie receiving season since Randy Moss in 1998. I'm pretty sure they made the right choice regarding him vs. Penei Sewell. Tee Higgins had an inconsistent first half of the year as he battled a shoulder injury which caused him to miss two games, but came on bigtime down the stretch (55-954-6 in his last 10 games including playoffs and catching a nice 69% of his targets in that span) and was a top-five receiver by DYAR while Tyler Boyd was as reliable as ever in the slot despite taking a back seat to Chase and Higgins. All four are under contract through at least 2023 and Boyd is the oldest one at 28. It goes without saying, but this is going to be an elite passing attack for years. TE CJ Uzomah had his best season coming off a torn Achilles and heads to free agency at 29. I'm skeptical of giving almost anyone a big third contract (Geno Atkins' and Carlos Dunlap's third deals were disasters and they were much better players) but given he's an unquestioned locker room leader, I'd be fine with a two-year deal.
As anyone who watched this team for a second could figure out, the giant elephant in the room is the offensive line. A year after Burrow's season ended prematurely from bad protection, he took another 70 sacks in 20 games. Given that they led more often than not and weren't playing catch-up all the time, that's really hard to do. I was really hoping the coaching switch from Jim Turner (probably the worst position coach in the league) to Frank Pollack would pay huge dividends and it did to some extent in the run game, but protection remains a glaring issue. It's incredible a franchise that developed four very good to great tackles in 15 years (Willie Anderson, Levi Jones, Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith) has had such a tough time finding them the last few years. 2019 first-round LT Jonah Williams had a decent season, but his limited athleticism caps his ceiling and I could see a move to G/RT if they find a starting LT at #31, which is quite possible given the plethora of options that should be available. LG Quinton Spain was also solid, although he'll be 31 by next season and a repeat performance may be unlikely. After that is where it starts to get ugly. C Trey Hopkins is quite the success story having made 67 starts and getting a nice extension after going undrafted and proving himself as an above-average player, but he tore his ACL the last game of last season and looked terrible this year. Given he'll be 30 by camp, he's a pretty clear cut candidate. The RG position was even worse, as neither 2020 sixth-rounder Hakeem Adeniji (predictably) nor 2021 second-rounder Jackson Carman (highly disappointingly) could handle the spot. Carman was a five-star recruit who started two years at LT for Clemson, but came in with maturity issues which manifested themselves as he showed up to camp out of shape and never got on track. He's also from the area, so going back home might've been the last thing he needed. They're stuck with him though and need to hope he can learn from his struggles and a full NFL offseason can help him get back to the player he was in college. Given they'll likely need four new starters, it would really be nice if he could be one of them and play up to his potential. RT Riley Reiff did a decent job but was lost for the season late in the year with an ankle injury. Replacement Isaiah Prince was, well, Isaiah Prince. I could see them bringing Reiff back on another one-year deal, but the injury and his age (33) means they should definitely also be looking for an upgrade. Given they've really started spending in free agency the last two years, they need to bring in at least one quality starter (Brandon Scherff?) through there and probably two.
After three absolutely horrendous years, the first under Marvin Lewis and the last two under Taylor, the defense was finally a respectable unit again as their big spending sprees from the last two offseasons paid off in spades. I questioned the Trey Hendrickson signing as it seemed he just had a big contract year on a team always playing with the lead and wanted them to bring Carl Lawson back instead, but he was a monster with 17.5 sacks including the playoffs and a commensurate amount of pressure. It seems like this is who he is now and should have a couple more years like this having just turned 27. After going down early last season, DJ Reader (their big splash in 2020) was worth every penny and might be the best run defender in the league. He almost single-handedly won the Titans game as he blew up a ton of plays and kept Henry from getting going at all before following it up with another great game in the Super Bowl. Sam Hubbard has developed into a very good player opposite Hendrickson and should be a solid bet for similar production going forward, while Larry Ogunjobi made good on a one-year, prove-it deal at DT before injuring his foot in the WC game. They also acquired BJ Hill from the Giants before the season for lost cause Billy Price and he provided excellent rotational play with 5.5 sacks from the interior. Both Ogunjobi and Hill are headed to free agency and I'd hope they can at least get one back. The pass rush should also get a boost from third-rounder Joseph Ossai, who was injured during the preseason and never played a snap.
The Bengals finally seem to have found a solid linebacker unit after years and years of mid-round busts and failed veteran stopgaps. Logan Wilson with his knack for turnovers and Germaine Pratt with his instincts both took big steps forward while Markus Bailey is a solid third LB. They also get back Akeem Davis-Gaither who can be a weapon against speedier offenses, as he played a great game against the Ravens before going down a couple weeks later. Hopefully the loss of Al Golden who took the Notre Dame DC job won't be felt too much, as they'll probably have to go outside the organization for his replacement.
The secondary was another area that was reconstructed the last two years and the results were excellent. Trae Waynes continued to not be able to get on the field (and wasn't any good when he was) and will assuredly be cut, but almost every other move paid off. They let William Jackson go to Washington and replaced him for the same cost with Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton, as Awuzie played at a shutdown level while Hilton fortified the slot. Both are still well in their primes and can hopefully replicate those seasons. Opposite Awuzie, they picked up Eli Apple off the scrap heap and developed him into a solid starter. It'll be interesting to see what they do with him in free agency, as he may have priced himself out of what they want to pay and his perpetual Twitter beefs with everyone under the sun are kind of the opposite of the culture they're building. At safety, Vonn Bell can get lost in coverage at times but still had a good year overall and is their leader on defense. The big offseason question lies with Jessie Bates. The Bengals almost always extend the guys they want to going into the final year of their rookie deals, but Bates hired super-agent David Mulugheta and the two sides were unable to come to an agreement. After playing at an elite level in 2019-20, Bates had an uncharacteristically bad first half of the year before turning it on in the second half and was spectacular in the playoffs. I would hope they franchise him and then can work out an extension, as he'd get a ton of money on the open market having still just turned 25 in a few days.
After having weak-legged kickers seemingly forever, the Bengals struck gold with Evan McPherson who's probably the closest thing to Justin Tucker. I'd like them to go in a different direction at punter, as Kevin Huber didn't have a great year, topped it off with a rough postseason and he'll be 37 next year. That'll be much easier said than done though, as he's a lifelong Cincinnatian and has been with ST Coach Darrin Simmons (who goes back to Marvin Lewis' first year) his entire career. The ageless Clark Harris is still a perfect long snapper (no unplayable snaps in his 13-year Bengals career) and should do this as long as he wants.
Obviously the end really sucked, but this was as good a season as anyone could've asked for and the franchise is in very good hands for the first time in a while. Mike Brown has taken a back seat as his daughter Katie Blackburn runs the day-to-day operations and they've finally participated in free agency. Now comes the test of whether they can sustain success as they play a first-place schedule (Chiefs, Titans, Cowboys) while picking 31st every round. They play the AFC East which will be tough, although they get the NFC South too which they could sweep looking at it right now. It may be tough to win the division again as the Ravens should be healthier and get to play a last-place schedule with much more draft capital, but the Bengals should be in the playoffs again and have a real shot at getting back to the Super Bowl.
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