This is the Gridiron Review’s grading and breakdown series of every team’s offseason. This article is the offseason in review of the Cincinnati Bengals 

Players Retained:

Offense: Brandon Allen, QB; Stanley Morgan, WR; Mike Thomas, WR

Defense: Josh Tupou, DL; B.J. Hill; Joe Bachie, LB; Eli Apple, CB; Tre Flowers, CB; Michael Thomas, S 

Key Losses:

Offense: Auden Tate, WR; C.J. Uzomah, TE; Fred Johnson, OL; Riley Reiff, OL; Trey Hopkins, OL; Quinton Spain, OL

Defense: Larry Ogunjobi, DL; Wyatt Ray, DL; Jordan Evans, LB; Vernon Hargreaves, CB; Darius Phillips, CB, Trae Waynes, CB

Key Free Agent Pick-ups:

Offense: Nick Eubanks, TE; Hayden Hurst, TE; Alex Cappa, OL; Ted Karras, OL; La’el Collins, OL

Trades(If Applicable):

None

Draft Class:

• Round 1, Pick No. 31: Daxton Hill, S, Michigan
• Round 2, Pick No. 60: Cam Taylor-Britt, CB, Nebraska
• Round 3, Pick No. 95: Zach Carter, DT, Florida
• Round 4, Pick No. 136: Cordell Volson, G, North Dakota State
• Round 5, Pick No. 166: Tycen Anderson, S, Tulsa
• Round 7, Pick No. 252: Jeffrey Gunter, EDGE, Coastal Carolina

Our Offseason Grade: Key needs addressed at price of depth

Record Prediction(Division Rank): 15-2(1st)

Summary:

Offensively, the Bengals are pretty much running it back with the same key contributors from last year. This includes starters and backups. At receiver, they lost WR4 Auden Tate, but that was about it. At tight end they lost C.J. Uzomah. They brought in Hayden Hurst who we believe can give you the same levels of production, but Uzomah’s leadership will be missed. He was a guy who really stepped up as one of the leaders of this team down the stretch, and I think they will miss having a presence like that. On the offensive line, they lost three starters from last year, but that was probably for the best. They were quick to bring in their replacements: Alex Cappa from Tampa Bay, Ted Karras from New England, and La’el Collins from Dallas. This is a major upgrade on the line for Joe Burrow. They also added Cordell Volson from North Dakota State in the draft. Our issues with this offense is that at both receiver and offensive line their starters are great with some pretty rough depth. I would’ve thought they would’ve tried to add a receiver in case of injury, and probably same with tight end. As for the offensive line, the interior depth isn’t too bad, but they have minimal depth at tackle, which I think could be an issue if there’s an injury. Spain, Hokins, and Reiff are all free agents still, so maybe they bring someone back for depth purposes. 

Defensively, they are running it back with almost the same group. The only starters they are losing are Ogunjobi and Waynes, but they were quick to replace them. On the defensive line, they drafted Zach Carter from Florida and Jeffrey Gunter from Coastal Carolina. They are nice backups for a front that played at a high level last year especially down the stretch. The linebacker room lost Jordan Evans, but outside of that is exactly the same as last year. Personally, I like that they didn’t do anything to the room because all of their guys are young players who still have room to grow and this group stepped up especially against the Chiefs when it mattered. The linebackers will once again be led by Pratt and Wilson. The secondary is what worries me. The Bengals watched everyone’s favorite piece of burnt toast(Eli Apple) give up the super bowl to Cooper Kupp who smoked him on the final drive. It’s not the fact that they brought him back for me, it’s the fact that they didn’t bring in a “pure” corner. They drafted two hybrid defensive backs, Dax Hill from Michigan and Cam Taylor-Britt from Nebraska. They also drafted another safety in Tycen Anderson from Tulsa. With all the trade rumors around Jessie Bates I have no issue with you taking a hybrid guy, but at 31 why not take Kyler Gordon or Lewis Cine or Jaquan Brisker. Either address the need of a corner or prepare to lose Bates. I love Dax Hill. I think he was the playmaker of all defensive playmakers in this class, but I thought playing the nickel would’ve been the perfect spot for him, and that’s not going to happen because they already have arguably the best nickel back in the league in Mike Hilton. Can Hill play outside cornerback, I would say absolutely, but by putting him there I feel like you limit his playmaking ability. Cam Taylor-Britt played a majority of his snaps at corner, but he also played some safety. Is he going to be ready to play a starting corner role in year one? I hope so because he is really athletic and has a ton of upside, but who knows. Tycen Anderson, seems like he was more of a depth piece safety pick which is fine, it gives him time to develop. Until the Bates situation is resolved I don’t think we are truly going to understand what the Bengals secondary is going to look like. If they trade Bates, they could slide Hill back to safety which I would like to see more than him playing outside corner, but then Apple may be your other starting corner again, which I would not be comfortable with. Only time will tell. This is going to be a very hit or miss secondary and I’m interested to see who will be playing where when week one rolls around.

Overall, the Bengals said let’s run it back with what we have. It’s not a bad idea considering they were just in a super bowl. They greatly improved the offensive line, and added depth at some positions, but forgot others. We predicted the Bengals to go 15-2, but if they have players go down with injuries at positions with shallow depth then we think the record could definitely be worse. We also think the predicted wins could decrease depending on how the starting secondary looks. In general we like the moves they made and hope they utilize everyone in a way that allows them to play to their potential. Their offense should be high-powered provided there are no injuries, and their defense should be average at the least while the young secondary figures it out (with potential to be better should the rookies have a bigger  impact than expected). This is a super young, super talented group that should run this division.