Any Ideas for a BOLD move that could set the Bengals up for Greater Success ?

[Whatever]

(01-05-2024, 07:46 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: I'll point out that in 2021 we started 2 TEs 8 times. In 2022, we started 2 TEs both of the first 2 games until Sample got hurt.

I honestly believe we just have had bad TE rooms and a really good top-3 WRs. So it dictated some things.

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Here are some projected contract numbers while ignoring the WRs who are projected to get the franchise tag (Higgins, Pittman, and Ridley)....

Mike Evans: 3yr/$69m ($23m/yr)
Gabe Davis: 1yr/$12m (I would like him as our #2 WR if we're going 12 personnel.)
Marquise Brown: 1yr/$12m
Curtis Samuel: 2yr/$18m ($9m/yr)
Darnell Mooney: 1yr/$9m
Tyler Boyd: 2yr/$17.5m ($8.75m/yr)
Kendrick Bourne: 2yr/$14m ($7m/yr)

Dalton Schultz: 3yr/$33m ($11m/yr)
Noah Fant: 3yr/$27m ($9m/yr)
Hunter Henry: 2yr/$12.25m ($6.125m/yr)
Gerald Everett: 1yr/$5.5m

....I think no matter what two WRs you add there, you're going to have a worse WR group in '24 than '23 and for a whole lot more money (Higgins and Boyd had a combined $14.25m cap hit in 2023). You're going to be paying around $9m/yr for very mediocre WRs.

Meanwhile even if you only sign one of those TEs and draft another you already have a MUCH better TE group in '24 than '23. Sign two of them and then use a later draft pick on a third and it's suddenly a strength. It also hopefully protects Burrow better and also helps the running game.

The Bengals were only in 12 personnel 18% of the offensive snaps in '21.  We may have started out in 12 on a number of occasions, but that's not the offense.  We were in 11 77% of the time.  I think we can use more 12 if we have the personnel, but it's never going to be Zac's bread and butter.  He's a McVay disciple, and McVay has always been an 11 base coach.

There's a reason why TE's are cheaper than WR's.  They aren't as productive.  Some of the guys being kicked around as options are guys like Fant and Henry, who have 400 receiving yards this year.  Boyd is a mediocre, at best, WR3 and has 663.  That's over 50% more than you'll get out of a TE.  It's cheaper to field because it's nowhere near as good in practice.  The only teams having much success with 12 base recently are clubs like the Ravens with a running QB.  We won't do that with Burrow.  

You can't count on drafting a starting TE this year.  There are literally only 2 TE's in the Top 100 prospects in this draft class.  Meanwhile, there's 18 WR's in the Top 100, with a stacked draft class.  You've got a better chance of drafting two starting WR's than a single starting TE.  If this was something we had any inclination of doing, we should have done it last year when there was a great TE class.