Keeping Tee Will Have Some Consequences

[*ochocincos*]

(09-08-2023, 08:37 AM)Synric Wrote: Why are people still saying the Bengals aren't paying the offensive and defensive lines? Both consist of mostly outside free agents at the moment. They need to draft and develop behind those starters now. 

Yep exactly.
You've already got Cappa, Brown, and Volson under contract through 2025.
The spots they'll need to figure out sooner will be RT and then C.

For DL, similar situation.
Hendrickson and Hubbard signed through 2025, BJ Hill signed through 2024.
Reader obviously after this season.

Bengals are likely to draft heirs to those OL and DL positions, as they won't have the luxury of paying mid-or-upper-tier prices for veterans.
Expect that Murphy is one of those planned heirs, so remove one DE from the list.
They've got 2-3 drafts they can draft a RT, C, 2 DTs, and maybe a WR2 if Higgins doesn't re-sign.
You can argue a NT doesn't have to be drafted 1st round, maybe even 2nd round.
You probably want the OL to be drafted within the first two rounds.
WR2 you can honestly get a cheaper veteran to cover that spot, even if they don't end up being quite as good as Higgins. But if you have the luxury and opportunity to draft a WR in Rd 1 or Rd 2 without sacrificing the OL/DL spots, may as well take it.
Can also get an elite receiving TE to act as 2nd option in the passing game instead of WR2, which may be an option given they said they liked someone like Kincaid's skill set.