The #1 priority this off-season needs to be fixing the offensive line. Hopefully to be more consistent in the running game but above all else protect Burrow. This seems like it may be somewhat of a complicated issue when you factor in the fact we have several free agents we need to sign or find replacements. Also the fact we are drafting so late we may have a limited selection of players on the line available or ones that can contribute immediately anyway. So I was curious on some specific solutions to fix the issue?

LT - Jonah seems adequate and believe we may have decent depth with Carman possibly being able to play if needed.
LG - Spain also seems to be good enough and likes it in Cincinnati so should be able to sign him.
C - People want to potentially replace Hopkins but I'm optimistic he will play better the farther away from his injury he gets. Trey Hills adds depth and hopefully continues to improve as he seemed pretty bad this year. Then if the Iowa center is there in the draft we can take him but don't have to force anything.
RG - This seems like the obvious place of needed improvement. There does seem to be a couple of good young RG available in free agency ( James Daniels or Austin Corbett) not sure what the price tag would be or if they fit our scheme. Also not sure what this does to Carman although it gives him a chance to continue to develop or just be solid depth.
RT - Another tough spot as I worry if we let Reiff go and try and fill it with the draft. We may run into trouble as we may get stuck with a guy with a day 2 grade and he may not be able to play immediately. But if we sign Reiff then that position still needs addressed in the draft I believe because Reiff didn't make it thru the year. So my thought would be sign Reiff he also adds LT depth. Then we can take a T in the draft but don't quite have the same urgency.

Something I thought about as well is if we sign Reiff and get a guard in free agency. Then we are sitting at the end of 1 and we don't like the players we could trade out of RD 1. Then we could probably take one of the same tackles we would've drafted but now in the early to mid 2nd. If we could pick up two day 2 picks this may be worth doing.

Also I thought with this off-season being especially crucial in my opinion. Along with the fact that our team is very close. Should we think about trading this years 1st along with next years to potentially move up to the 20ish range in RD 1 for the right olineman? I think Philly may be a team willing to trade as they have 3 1st rd picks. Also not sure if that would be enough draft capital to make a move like that?

I don’t think they give up on Carman that easy since he was taken in the 2nd round last year. I do expect them to bring in a veteran OT during free agency.

Step 1: Re-sign Spain
Step 2: Sign Alex Cappa
Step 3: Sign Bradley Bozeman
Step 4: Draft a RT in the 1st round. (Darian Kinnard/Nick Petit-Frere/Tyler Smith/Daniel Faalele)
Step 5: Win a second SB in 2 years.

Take Linderbaum at the end of the first round to solidify center but then add starters at guard and tackle in free agency on the right side and make sure we have at least decent depth (current players) in case of injury.

We need to sell-out to protect Burrow.

(02-06-2022, 01:07 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Step 1: Re-sign Spain
Step 2: Sign Alex Cappa
Step 3: Sign Bradley Bozeman
Step 4: Draft a RT in the 1st round. (Darian Kinnard/Nick Petit-Frere/Tyler Smith/Daniel Faalele)
Step 5: Win a second SB in 2 years.

I think you are teaching a little with the first four.

(02-06-2022, 01:08 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: Take Linderbaum at the end of the first round to solidify center but then add starters at guard and tackle in free agency on the right side and make sure we have at least decent depth (current players) in case of injury.

We need to sell-out to protect Burrow.

I'm just worried Linderbaum may be gone by our pick. 

We only need to draft one offensive lineman: Daniel Faalele from Minnesota. I guarantee you free agent offensive linemen are burning up their agents’ cell phones as we speak trying to get to Cincinnati. They want to block for Joe Mixon and pass protect for Joe Burrow. The Bengals are now an attractive team and a legitimate franchise to join to get a ring.

Step 1: win the Super Bowl.

Step 2: Offer FA IOL good contracts, who wouldn’t want to block for the SB winning bengals Joe and Joe.

Step 3: draft a nice Right tackle and/or interior offensive lineman.

It’s no secret to us, so I bet the bengals OL is 60% overhauled within the next 4 months.

(02-06-2022, 01:14 AM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: I'm just worried Linderbaum may be gone by our pick. 

I don't think anyone will take him before us.

Bears need IOL but they don't have a first round pick, the Panthers pick way too early to take him, Bucs could maybe take them but I think they go WR, and I just think the few other teams that need IOL have other needs.

Would suck if he's gone but I think he'll be there 

Step 1: Re-sign Spain
Step 2: Sign RG Alex Cappa (11m/yr estimated by sportrac)
Step 3: Sign RT Trent Brown (10m/yr estimated by sportrac)
Step 4: Trade up using one of our 3rd round picks to 20ish to get Linerbaum


LT: Jonah (2021 PFF GRADE 77.5)
LG: Spain (2021 PFF GRADE 72.3)
C: Linderbaum (rookie with probowl potential year 1)
RG: Cappa (2021 PFF GRADE 74..2)
RT: Brown (2021 PFF GRADE 77.6)

Backups: Carman, Smith, Prince, Adeniji, Hill

As you can see by the PFF grades this is not an elite OL but it is a solid OL which is all we need.  This OL has no holes which is all a QB like Burrow needs.  

This would be a very ideal and pretty realistic off-season overhaul.  Neither Cappa nor Brown will break the bank and are 27 and 28 so still young enough to be solid for some years. By not breaking the bank we can easily afford to re-sign our in-house FAs.  The draft scenario will be pivotal.  Getting Linderbaum on a rookie deal is the missing link.  We can cut Hopkins and have a major upgrade for the next 10 years plus.

(02-06-2022, 12:59 AM)Webbtown Wrote: I don’t think they give up on Carman that easy since he was taken in the 2nd round last year. I do expect them to bring in a veteran OT during free agency.

We don't win the AFC title game without Jackson Carman's block on Willie Gay on the Perine TD before half. I think Carman will be okay going forward next season.

(02-06-2022, 12:29 AM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: The #1 priority this off-season needs to be fixing the offensive line. Hopefully to be more consistent in the running game but above all else protect Burrow. This seems like it may be somewhat of a complicated issue when you factor in the fact we have several free agents we need to sign or find replacements. Also the fact we are drafting so late we may have a limited selection of players on the line available or ones that can contribute immediately anyway. So I was curious on some specific solutions to fix the issue?

LT - Jonah seems adequate and believe we may have decent depth with Carman possibly being able to play if needed.
LG - Spain also seems to be good enough and likes it in Cincinnati so should be able to sign him.
C - People want to potentially replace Hopkins but I'm optimistic he will play better the farther away from his injury he gets. Trey Hills adds depth and hopefully continues to improve as he seemed pretty bad this year. Then if the Iowa center is there in the draft we can take him but don't have to force anything.
RG - This seems like the obvious place of needed improvement. There does seem to be a couple of good young RG available in free agency ( James Daniels or Austin Corbett) not sure what the price tag would be or if they fit our scheme. Also not sure what this does to Carman although it gives him a chance to continue to develop or just be solid depth.
RT - Another tough spot as I worry if we let Reiff go and try and fill it with the draft. We may run into trouble as we may get stuck with a guy with a day 2 grade and he may not be able to play immediately. But if we sign Reiff then that position still needs addressed in the draft I believe because Reiff didn't make it thru the year. So my thought would be sign Reiff he also adds LT depth. Then we can take a T in the draft but don't quite have the same urgency.

Something I thought about as well is if we sign Reiff and get a guard in free agency. Then we are sitting at the end of 1 and we don't like the players we could trade out of RD 1. Then we could probably take one of the same tackles we would've drafted but now in the early to mid 2nd. If we could pick up two day 2 picks this may be worth doing.

Also I thought with this off-season being especially crucial in my opinion. Along with the fact that our team is very close. Should we think about trading this years 1st along with next years to potentially move up to the 20ish range in RD 1 for the right olineman? I think Philly may be a team willing to trade as they have 3 1st rd picks. Also not sure if that would be enough draft capital to make a move like that?

Man, I'm going to tell you what.  THE BENGALS ARE GOING TO WIN THIS SUPER BOWL.   

AFTER that, and I mean AFTER that, the team needs to keep as many of these SUPER BOWL PLAYERS as they can resign, and go from there. 

Hey, I use to bad mouth this O Line.  They were THE WORST O Line in NFL from 2017 to 2020.  They weren't as bad in 2021 season, Super Bowl proves that. 

You lost me when you said Jonah Williams is adequate. 

YES, to protect Burrow more they need to focus on O Line this off season, but can we watch Bengals Win the Super Bowl First.  

(02-06-2022, 12:29 AM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: The #1 priority this off-season needs to be fixing the offensive line. Hopefully to be more consistent in the running game but above all else protect Burrow. This seems like it may be somewhat of a complicated issue when you factor in the fact we have several free agents we need to sign or find replacements. Also the fact we are drafting so late we may have a limited selection of players on the line available or ones that can contribute immediately anyway. So I was curious on some specific solutions to fix the issue?

LT - Jonah seems adequate and believe we may have decent depth with Carman possibly being able to play if needed.
LG - Spain also seems to be good enough and likes it in Cincinnati so should be able to sign him.
C - People want to potentially replace Hopkins but I'm optimistic he will play better the farther away from his injury he gets. Trey Hills adds depth and hopefully continues to improve as he seemed pretty bad this year. Then if the Iowa center is there in the draft we can take him but don't have to force anything.
RG - This seems like the obvious place of needed improvement. There does seem to be a couple of good young RG available in free agency ( James Daniels or Austin Corbett) not sure what the price tag would be or if they fit our scheme. Also not sure what this does to Carman although it gives him a chance to continue to develop or just be solid depth.
RT - Another tough spot as I worry if we let Reiff go and try and fill it with the draft. We may run into trouble as we may get stuck with a guy with a day 2 grade and he may not be able to play immediately. But if we sign Reiff then that position still needs addressed in the draft I believe because Reiff didn't make it thru the year. So my thought would be sign Reiff he also adds LT depth. Then we can take a T in the draft but don't quite have the same urgency.

Something I thought about as well is if we sign Reiff and get a guard in free agency. Then we are sitting at the end of 1 and we don't like the players we could trade out of RD 1. Then we could probably take one of the same tackles we would've drafted but now in the early to mid 2nd. If we could pick up two day 2 picks this may be worth doing.

Also I thought with this off-season being especially crucial in my opinion. Along with the fact that our team is very close. Should we think about trading this years 1st along with next years to potentially move up to the 20ish range in RD 1 for the right olineman? I think Philly may be a team willing to trade as they have 3 1st rd picks. Also not sure if that would be enough draft capital to make a move like that?

I'm not optimistic about Hopkins. He's a marginal starter at very best ! He struggles bad against upper tier Dlinemen. RG is obviously a position that needs major upgrade. We have to fix the interior Oline to give Joe a chance.

Get top level replacements thru free agency and draft a RT. 

Even if a center is drafted I would still sign one of the top FA RG and RT available. Joe Burrow is the franchise so it is best not to gamble with his health. Also re-sign Spain. We must upgrade play at C, RG, RT. Not only will it help the Joe's but it will also help the defense. They will be able to get longer breaks while Joe Mixon actually has holes to run through and Joe B. isn't getting sacked 3 times a game.

(02-06-2022, 01:07 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Step 1: Re-sign Spain
Step 2: Sign Alex Cappa
Step 3: Sign Bradley Bozeman
Step 4: Draft a RT in the 1st round. (Darian Kinnard/Nick Petit-Frere/Tyler Smith/Daniel Faalele)
Step 5: Win a second SB in 2 years.

This is exactly what I think needs to happen.  

(02-06-2022, 09:31 AM)kevin Wrote: Man, I'm going to tell you what.  THE BENGALS ARE GOING TO WIN THIS SUPER BOWL.   

AFTER that, and I mean AFTER that, the team needs to keep as many of these SUPER BOWL PLAYERS as they can resign, and go from there. 

Hey, I use to bad mouth this O Line.  They were THE WORST O Line in NFL from 2017 to 2020.  They weren't as bad in 2021 season, Super Bowl proves that. 

You lost me when you said Jonah Williams is adequate. 

YES, to protect Burrow more they need to focus on O Line this off season, but can we watch Bengals Win the Super Bowl First.  

SB doesnt prove the oline isnt bad. The grades are atrocious and although Jonah is our best he is not the beast we had hoped, he is graded as middle of the pack at best among LT.

The fact we cannot run much of our passing offense is proof the oline is not very good.  We are playing in the SB and can only run 3 step drop pass plays, not enough time to run any 5-7 drop concepts (longer pass plays).  Imagine if Chase and Higgins could run double moves and deep posts?  We cant do any of that this week.

Replacing C, RG and RT could result in this offense being one of, if not the most explosive in the league next year.

There are some good articles on developing NFL Offensive Lineman.
Here is a link to one of them.
https://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/21/broncos-offensive-line-nfl-draft/

It basically says Off Lineman is one of the most difficult positions to develop. It may take 3 years to reach full development. Our rookies have played a significant amount of snaps this year. here is where our Offensive Line currently stands.

Isiah Prince (24) 2019 - 6th round (Miami Dolphins) this is his 3rd year. Only played in 4 games with Miami.
Jonah Wiliams (24) 2019 - this technically his second year if you include his injury. He is getting better as the year plays on.
Hakeem Adeniji (24) - 2020 - 6th round pick finishing his second year - Jury still out on him.
Jackson Carmen (22) - 2021 - 2nd round pick in his Rookie Year
D'Ante Smith (23) - 2021 - 4th round pick in his Rookie Year
Trey Hill (22) - 2021 - 6th round pick in his Rookie Year
Fred Johnson (24) - 2019 Undrafted
Trey Hopkins (29) - 2014 Undrafted
Quinton Spain (30) - 2015 Undrafted
Riley Reiff (33) - 2012 - 1st round pick of Detorit Lions

Controlling the NFL salary cap is so crucial to NFL success. The Bengals will hope the young guys on this list will develop and therefore they will not bring in high priced free agents. At best I bet they only bring in 1 to help shore up this off line and draft another. I can see Fred Johnson not coming back and possibly Riley Reiff and Quinton Spain depending on how much money they want. They will not overpay for those guys.
They will sign Jessie Bates, Uzomah and Ogunjobi to team friendly deals.

How to fix the OL: address the right side with 1-2 vet FAs, potentially use another early pick if you only get 1 FA.

Williams-Spain-Hopkins have been solid. While there's room for improvement there, it's the right side that needs prioritized.

Reiff was ok, but I think they can do better. I'd prefer the Bengals look for a different vet, but I can understand wanting to keep him for continuity. Given he's already 33 and hasn't played a full season in over 5 years, it'd be wise to draft a swing OT probably in the first 3 rounds to groom behind him.

RG has been the disaster. Adeniji gets bullied often, and Carman still needs development to gain consistency.
I would not be happy if the Bengals decided to just have RG be a competition between Adeniji, Carman, and Smith next year. Let all of them continue development as backups.

I think the fact the team has serious issues along the offensive line and has made it to the Super Bowl shows how ahead of schedule the rebuild is. I just pray Joe isn’t running for his life like Mahomes was against the Bucs like last year Super Bowl.

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2022-free-agent-rankings-free-agency


This is PFFs top 100 free agents coming up. A lot of these guys are kinda like Jesse Bates. They are technically free agents but everyone is 99% sure the team will retain them.



There are ALOT of lineman in free agency. We have a lot of money and we could easily pay Bates and get a RG and a RT on good deals. We’re not gonna throw a lineman a 90 million dollar contract but there are plenty lineman around the 3 year 30 million dollar range we could get. I’m kinda 50/50 on Hopkins right now. I can’t really justify giving 3 big contracts out to the line but i also think we can do better than Trey. I would love to draft a great C and give Burrow his version of Jeff Saturday that he plays with for a decade plus.