The Cincinnati Bengals began the Joe Burrow era in a rough way. After nine very well played games by the No.1 overall pick, Burrow tore his ACL in the 10th game. As a whole, the team finished off 4-11-1 and had a busy offseason checklist. Looking forward, the Bengals are in hopes to reach their first playoffs since 2015, but it will be quite a challenge.
Make sure to check out all of our other 2021 NFL Team Previews.
Offseason Recap
The big debate for Cincinnati was what to do with the fifth overall pick in the NFL Draft. The most realistic option seemed to address an offensive line that was practically why Burrow got hurt. However, after a free agency where they signed Riley Reiff, the team seemed content with their line because young guys like Jonah Williams were starting to develop. So, the Bengals used this pick on Burrow’s former LSU teammate, and 2019 Biletnikoff award winner, Ja’Marr Chase. The front office hopes Chase can be the next great Bengals receiver and show glimpses of former All-Pro A.J. Green.
Besides just Chase, the Bengals had a phenomenal overall draft. They finally did address the offensive line by selecting Jackson Carman in the second round. Cincinnati then went for front seven help with the pick of Joseph Ossai who fell much farther than he should have in the draft, they also got Cam Sample to help out on the line here. They then finished off their draft by selecting high-tier needs in the later rounds like pass-catching running back Chris Evans, who replaces longtime tenured receiving back Giovani Bernard.
Moving on to free agency, once again, the Bengals did a very solid job. The first big move was signing Trey Hendrickson to a massive four-year deal. They then grabbed Chidobe Awuzie (who is having an outstanding camp) and Mike Hilton for secondary help. Finally, to get even more front seven help, they picked up Larry Ogunjobi on a one-year deal. Overall, while not huge stars, these players are all very good for the team’s depth and overall scheme.
One final small note, the team failed to reach an extension with star safety Jessie Bates, which is a major cause for concern. If Bates doesn’t resign in the next offseason period, the Bengals secondary will take a terrible step back after they worked pretty hard to rebuild.
Offense
We’ve mentioned the big piece here of Burrow but there are many more weapons to get to. This offense has serious potential to be electric. To be honest, it all starts in the run game. With Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd out at receiver, we know the air attack will be very good. Now, we need to see Joe Mixon step it up. He’s just been a big letdown minus his 2019 season and all good football teams run the ball well. Obviously, it’s not just on Mixon.
The offensive line was probably the worst part about this team last year (certainly the worst of the offense) and even with the improvements, they have got to be better. The ceiling for this offense is well within the top 10 just because of the sheer talent. The floor, however, is reached if the line is terrible, and that could see them sputter out and end up who knows where. All in all, it’s pretty clear this team is built through the offense, and we hope they can show off their full potential this year.
Defense
This is clearly the most improved of the two units. Cincinnati’s defense was plain bad last season, and it will be interesting to see how they improve. This group clearly runs through Bates in the secondary, and most likely Hendrickson on the front seven. These two are true stars in the NFL, especially Bates and star-power is what the Bengals have been missing for some time now. The biggest concern has to be at linebacker. It saw the least improvements over the offseason and it’s a tough group to seek out true impact players. There are a lot of serviceable guys in linebacking core, so it shouldn’t be too bad but still something to keep an eye on. The moral of the story, this is a much-improved unit that has lots to offer.
Predicting the 53 Man Roster
QB (2)- Joe Burrow, Brandon Allen
What else can we say about Burrow? When healthy, he’s the future. As for Allen, he’s competing with Kyle Shurmur right now. Neither has really ousted each other in camp but Allen is a guy who knows the system better and will backup Burrow just fine.
RB (4)- Joe Mixon, Samaje Perine, Jacques Patrick, Chris Evans
Mixon and Perine are locks to make the roster as we are sure you can imagine. Patrick is dueling it out with Trayveon Williams, who is probably the better player but has come down with injury troubles and Patrick has seen serious reps throughout the preseason. Evans is the sixth-round rookie we mentioned earlier who will look to replace Bernard sometime down the road.
WR (7)- Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Auden Tate, Trent Taylor, Mike Thomas, Pooka Williams
This is where we reach our first real tough decision. The big question is does Williams reach the roster? He was originally a running back who is super versatile and taking reps at wideout for Cincinnati. You’d think the Bengals would want to keep him around but 11 backs/receivers are hard to think about. For the sake of the matter, we will keep Williams around here but don’t be surprised if they cut him or Taylor to get down to six. Otherwise, Chase, Higgins, Boy, Tate, and most likely Thomas are all set on this roster.
TE (3)- C.J. Uzomah, Drew Sample, Thaddeus Moss
Uzomah’s 2020 season got off to a great start before he tore his Achilles in week two of the year. Now, he’s back as the lead tight end with Sample to back him up. The third spot is pretty much up in the air between Moss and fan least-favorite Mason Schreck. It seems Moss is having the better camp, plus the Bengals seem to love that Burrow to LSU teammate connection so we’ll roll with him.
OL (10)- Jackson Carman Jonah Williams, Trey Hopkins, Xavier Su’a-Filo, Riley Reiff, Fred Johnson, D’Ante Smith, Billy Price, Michael Jordan, Quinton Spain
This is a pretty interesting group. They’ve got some youth, some depth, and some true actual talent for once. Look, this might not be the best offensive line in the league, heck it won’t even be top 15, but it should be a lot better than last year’s. One of the camp battles that we could see in play is Isaiah Prince who’s playing very well, however, he can just go on the practice squad for now.
DL (10)- Cam Sample, Sam Hubbard, Larry Ogunjobi, Trey Hendrickson, Mike Daniels, Joseph Ossai, Khalid Kareem, Tyler Shelvin, Josh Tupou, D.J. Reader
We’ve already talked a lot about the improvements made to this line, and the young bucks in Sample, Ossai, and Shelvin are really exciting. There are no clear bubble guys, except maybe Renell Wren, and this group as a whole has become one of the stronger points on the team.
LB (4)- Germaine Pratt, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Logan Wilson, Jordan Evans
Four might be too small a number here but it all depends on how guys like Ossai are used. The real exciting name here is Pratt. He’s been due for a big breakout season for years now and it seems like now is the time with all the opportunity in front of him.
CB (6)- Chidobe Awuzie, Mike Hilton, Darius Phillips, Trae Waynes, Eli Apple, Winston Rose
Awuzie is one of the more notable names across the entire league of players who are having good camps, and he has for sure locked down the number one spot. Hilton through Apple are all locks to make the team, so then it comes down to the discussion of the six spot. Rose and his competition Tony Brown have gotten a lot of reps, and it’s a little unclear who will win as of now. We’ll take Rose because it seems he’s gone up against the better receivers more in camp.
SAF (4)- Jessie Bates, Vonn Bell, Brandon Wilson, Ricardo Allen
There’s really not much to say here. No one is fighting for a roster spot and this is the best group on the team.
ST (3)- Evan McPherson, Kevin Huber, Clark Harris
The kicker battle in Cincinnati is heating up, but both guys have not necessarily been great. McPherson is battling with Austin Seibert, and from what it seems like in camp, and in preseason games, they’ve performed somewhat equal. However, you can’t spend a fifth-round pick on a kicker and not take him if the two guys are playing the same. Huber is still one of the better punters in the game and will keep his job here. As for Harris, he’s safe entering his 12th season with the team.
One Player to Add
With the clear lack of stellar talent at linebacker, K.J Wright is a name that screams out. He’s still a very good player and it would be a very good signing for the Bengals. Other names that come to mind are Russel Okung and Bobby Massie to get some offensive line depth and veteran leadership.
2021 Season Outlook & Odds
Cincinnati has the fifth-worst odds in the NFL with a win-loss over/under set at 6.5. This team isn’t going to go to the playoffs, barring an absolute miracle, but things are looking up and they definitely will eclipse their win total of four games for last year. Unfortunately, the schedule is pretty rough. They play the Kansas City Chiefs, face off against the Green Bay Packers as well as the San Francisco 49ers. Not to mention, they play in one of the hardest divisions in football. While they will show promise, we could really see this team take more losses than the average fan would hope.
Season Prediction: 6-11 and Miss the Playoffs
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