Paul Dehner - 'Will Bengals invest in offensive line?'

[MileHighGrowler]

(01-19-2021, 05:22 PM)J24 Wrote: Honestly Paul sounds like a national media guy that says what the Bengals should do instead of what the Bengals will do.
In all honesty I just don't see the Bengals cutting Hart( they should) after his best year as a starter. The front office has stuck through him when he has been laughably bad but now I'm supposed to believe they will cut him now?
Also they need two starting Guards. My prediction is they sign starter who is cut this off-season and draft a guy in the 2nd or third to start come September.
I could see them addressing RT in the draft but the guy won't be given starting position unless it's Sewell.

This is about the same take I've got, and the feeling I've had since the season ended.  I don't see them making a big splash in FA for OL this year.  And I don't see them making it a major target in the draft, either.  I can see them drafting a guy (or two, with one being a later round chance) and picking up a guy in FA for depth.  But I just don't see them going after a starting line-up this offseason.  They've made too many comments about being close, and having guys they can work with on the line.  That added to the history of what they've done/how they've valued OL (and how they are convinced they can keep coaching up the guys they have), and I just don't see it suddenly becoming their focus because they changed out their OL coach.  

I'd love to see them open the wallet, but I just don't.  And here's where it grinds my gears:  This isn't a team in rebuild mode.  Rebuild is where you have a definitive 2-3 plan.  This is what it should have been when Taylor was hired, and you put the foundation in place.  Once you bring in the guy who's supposed to be your franchise QB, the clock is ticking and you can't play the rebuild game by developing draft picks over 2 seasons.  You'll have lost most of the QB's rookie contract at that point.  They didn't put the foundational pieces in already, and with a likely strategy of not going big on the trenches in FA this year, they're just wasting time.  

But boy, I'd love for the org to prove me wrong!!