Some will hate this, but I think this roster provides a great chance at multiple runs to the Super Bowl and still have $12.4M in cap space for rookies and other free agents.

Offseason transactions:

Cut: Waynes, Hopkins

Trade: Tyler Boyd to Miami for 2nd Round Pick

Resign: Bates (14.5), (Hill, 7.8), Flowers (2.6), Morgan (965k), Harris (1.1)

Acquire: Rasul Douglas, CB (7), Trent Brown, RT (10), Austin Corbett, OG (9M), Ryan Jensen, C (12M)


Draft:
1st Wyatt, DT, UGA
2nd Trey McBride, TE, CSU (from Miami)
2nd Wan’dale Robinson, Slot, UK
3rd Kellen Diesch, OT, ASU
4th Cole Strange, OG, UCT
5th Cordale Flott, CB, LSU
6th ZaQuandre White, RB USC
7th Matt Araiza, P, SDSU (may not be available in the 7th, but was in the simulators)
7th Jack Coan, QB, ND


DT is solid with Hill and Wyatt

TE: McBride > CJ

Slot: Boyd > Robinson today, but Wan’Dale is explosive and $9M cheaper per year.

Oline is solid with starters: Williams, Carmen/Strange, Jensen, Corbett, Brown
Diesch, Smith, Prince, Adeniji as backups

CB is secure with Douglas (5 INTS for GB), Awuzie, Flott, Flowers, Hilton.

RB2 - White is very underrated and replaces Perine.

QB2 - Coan battle for spot

P - not sure Araiza is available at 7 despite simulators but if so he is has a cannon for a leg.

(02-23-2022, 05:30 PM)casear2727 Wrote: Some will hate this, but I think this roster provides a great chance at multiple runs to the Super Bowl and still have $12.4M in cap space for rookies and other free agents.

Offseason transactions:

Cut:   Waynes, Hopkins

Trade:     Tyler Boyd to Miami for 2nd Round Pick

Resign:    Bates (14.5), (Hill, 7.8), Flowers (2.6), Morgan (965k), Harris (1.1)

Acquire:   Rasul Douglas, CB (7), Trent Brown, RT (10), Austin Corbett, OG (9M), Ryan Jensen, C (12M)


Draft:
1st Wyatt, DT, UGA
2nd Trey McBride, TE, CSU  (from Miami)
2nd Wan’dale Robinson, Slot, UK
3rd Kellen Diesch, OT, ASU
4th Cole Strange, OG, UCT
5th Cordale Flott, CB, LSU
6th ZaQuandre White, RB USC
7th Matt Araiza, P, SDSU (may not be available in the 7th, but was in the simulators)
7th Jack Coan, QB, ND


DT is solid with Hill and Wyatt

TE:  McBride > CJ

Slot: Boyd > Robinson today, but Wan’Dale is explosive and $9M cheaper per year.

Oline is solid with starters: Williams, Carmen/Strange, Jensen, Corbett, Brown
Diesch, Smith, Prince, Adeniji as backups

CB is secure with Douglas (5 INTS for GB), Awuzie, Flott, Flowers, Hilton.

RB2 - White is very underrated and replaces Perine.

QB2 - Coan battle for spot

P - not sure Araiza is available at 7 despite simulators but if so he is has a cannon for a leg.

I like Corbett, Brown, and Jensen additions, but I doubt the Bengals make a C their highest-paid OL.
C has always been one of the least-valued positions on OL for the Bengals in the past, next to RG.

One thing that will raise A LOT of concern is gambling on either Carman or this 4th round pick Strange to adequately handle starting LG duties.
Carman didn't do enough this past year to give confidence of solidifying a starting spot, and a 4th round pick is never safe to bet on starting and playing well as a rookie.
I think if you at least re-signed Spain or drafted someone like Zion Johnson at 31 to compete with Carman, you'd have less worry.
You could swap out Wyatt for Johnson and then swap out Strange for someone like Matthew Butler, the 3T from Tennessee.

(02-23-2022, 05:58 PM)ochocincos Wrote: I like Corbett, Brown, and Jensen additions, but I doubt the Bengals make a C their highest-paid OL.
C has always been one of the least-valued positions on OL for the Bengals in the past, next to RG.

One thing that will raise A LOT of concern is gambling on either Carman or this 4th round pick Strange to adequately handle starting LG duties.
Carman didn't do enough this past year to give confidence of solidifying a starting spot, and a 4th round pick is never safe to bet on starting and playing well as a rookie.
I think if you at least re-signed Spain or drafted someone like Zion Johnson at 31 to compete with Carman, you'd have less worry.
You could swap out Wyatt for Johnson and then swap out Strange for someone like Matthew Butler, the 3T from Tennessee.

The reason C is highest is because the deal is shorter in years and he actually is the more valued player.

I just dont think they give up on Carmen this quick - in my humble opinion.  Zion give this impression if you sign a FA OG.
Butler is as good as Wyatt?  We have a definite hole at DT with just Hill re-signing. Wyatt could be a longterm solution.  We dont know what Carmen will do next season, especially in between Jonah and Jensen...?

(02-23-2022, 06:07 PM)casear2727 Wrote: The reason C is highest is because the deal is shorter in years and he actually is the more valued player.

I just dont think they give up on Carmen this quick - in my humble opinion.  Zion give this impression if you sign a FA OG.
Butler is as good as Wyatt?  We have a definite hole at DT with just Hill re-signing. Wyatt could be a longterm solution.  We dont know what Carmen will do next season, especially in between Jonah and Jensen...?

Butler may not be as good as Wyatt, but you already have your starter in Hill, who can be the long-term starter.
If you're looking to have a backup, you don't need to invest a 1st round pick to be a backup.
And you're thinking Wyatt is going to become the long-term starter down the road, find a different, cheaper stopgap instead of Hill.

To me, if I'm willing to spend a 1st rounder on a DT, I'm planning on that DT competing for starting reps along with a cheap veteran rotational guy like Maurice Hurst, Solomon Thomas, or Darius Philon.

(02-23-2022, 07:22 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Butler may not be as good as Wyatt, but you already have your starter in Hill, who can be the long-term starter.
If you're looking to have a backup, you don't need to invest a 1st round pick to be a backup.
And you're thinking Wyatt is going to become the long-term starter down the road, find a different, cheaper stopgap instead of Hill.

To me, if I'm willing to spend a 1st rounder on a DT, I'm planning on that DT competing for starting reps along with a cheap veteran rotational guy like Maurice Hurst, Solomon Thomas, or Darius Philon.

Normally I would agree. You have more faith than me.

If I were drafting in the Top 15 maybe I’d trust my rookie more. We are picking in a very new spot for us. I trust TE McBride more than any other rookie on my list.

(02-23-2022, 05:30 PM)casear2727 Wrote: Draft:
1st Wyatt, DT, UGA - I like the pick based on need and potential of adding pressure from this rotational spot.
2nd Trey McBride, TE, CSU  (from Miami) - he's THE guy but I don't think there's enough balls to go around for a pass first TE.
2nd Wan’dale Robinson, Slot, UK - too early for limited player.
3rd Kellen Diesch, OT, ASU - Like this guy, might not have sand in his pants, but I'll trade dependable blocking for pancakes any day.
4th Cole Strange, OG, UCT - Lot to like. Size, attitude, and work ethic. But you're throwing him in the deep end in a flooded position spot.
5th Cordale Flott, CB, LSU
6th ZaQuandre White, RB USC
7th Matt Araiza, P, SDSU (may not be available in the 7th, but was in the simulators) - no desire or training in kicking inside the 20.
7th Jack Coan, QB, ND

Too many offense picks to a VERY young offensive roster. Might use 2nd round pick on a CB, S, or even cover LB. I'd move WR picks to day 3; Bengals can afford developmental WR picks.

(02-23-2022, 05:30 PM)casear2727 Wrote: Some will hate this, but I think this roster provides a great chance at multiple runs to the Super Bowl and still have $12.4M in cap space for rookies and other free agents.

Offseason transactions:

Cut:   Waynes, Hopkins

Trade:     Tyler Boyd to Miami for 2nd Round Pick

Resign:    Bates (14.5), (Hill, 7.8), Flowers (2.6), Morgan (965k), Harris (1.1)

Acquire:   Rasul Douglas, CB (7), Trent Brown, RT (10), Austin Corbett, OG (9M), Ryan Jensen, C (12M)


Draft:
1st Wyatt, DT, UGA
2nd Trey McBride, TE, CSU  (from Miami)
2nd Wan’dale Robinson, Slot, UK
3rd Kellen Diesch, OT, ASU
4th Cole Strange, OG, UCT
5th Cordale Flott, CB, LSU
6th ZaQuandre White, RB USC
7th Matt Araiza, P, SDSU (may not be available in the 7th, but was in the simulators)
7th Jack Coan, QB, ND


DT is solid with Hill and Wyatt

TE:  McBride > CJ

Slot: Boyd > Robinson today, but Wan’Dale is explosive and $9M cheaper per year.

Oline is solid with starters: Williams, Carmen/Strange, Jensen, Corbett, Brown
Diesch, Smith, Prince, Adeniji as backups

CB is secure with Douglas (5 INTS for GB), Awuzie, Flott, Flowers, Hilton.

RB2 - White is very underrated and replaces Perine.

QB2 - Coan battle for spot

P - not sure Araiza is available at 7 despite simulators but if so he is has a cannon for a leg.

I like some of this but don't see how Prince or Adenji are back on this team next year. I don't care if they play for free.
Adenji had is opportunity and he failed. Prince was not wanted in Tampa and he failed his chance in Cincy. They are probably great people but not the guys we need to protect Burrow. We went from last to first last year and this year the theme should be going from the most sacked QB to the least sacked QB.

I do like drafting the punter but we need to do that earlier. I bet we get him in the 4th.

(02-24-2022, 10:00 AM)SuperBowlBound! Wrote: I like some of this but don't see how Prince or Adenji are back on this team next year. I don't care if they play for free.
Adenji had is opportunity and he failed. Prince was not wanted in Tampa and he failed his chance in Cincy. They are probably great people but not the guys we need to protect Burrow. We went from last to first last year and this year the theme should be going from the most sacked QB to the least sacked QB.

I do like drafting the punter but we need to do that earlier. I bet we get him in the 4th.

I'd be ok with moving on from Prince, but not Adeniji.
Adeniji was playing out of position, IMO.
He was better in 2020 when he was playing outside, and I think that's his best position.
He just isn't strong enough to handle DTs, but he can handle lighter, faster edge guys.

We should be more concerned that D'Ante Smith wasn't even put in over Prince.
Makes me real nervous about his ability.

(02-24-2022, 10:00 AM)SuperBowlBound! Wrote: I like some of this but don't see how Prince or Adenji are back on this team next year. I don't care if they play for free.
Adenji had is opportunity and he failed. Prince was not wanted in Tampa and he failed his chance in Cincy. They are probably great people but not the guys we need to protect Burrow. We went from last to first last year and this year the theme should be going from the most sacked QB to the least sacked QB.

I do like drafting the punter but we need to do that earlier. I bet we get him in the 4th.

Prince and Adeniji were awful but they are cheap and under contract with experience, we need depth, they aren't going anywhere unless draftees push them out.

4 is very high for a Punter, we have one in the wings they like. SDSU kid is killer though.

Robinson isnt a developmental pick, he is a 3rd round guy and only because his a slot receiver, I have him replacing Boyd. Im not replacing Boyd with a Day 3 WR.

I signed a CB1 in free agency, no need to sign a high pick.

With Smith and Prince as depth a Safety or LB would be a possibility in the 3rd in this scenario.

(02-24-2022, 01:04 PM)casear2727 Wrote: Robinson isnt a developmental pick, he is a 3rd round guy and only because his a slot receiver, I have him replacing Boyd. Im not replacing Boyd with a Day 3 WR.

I signed a CB1 in free agency, no need to sign a high pick.

With Smith and Prince as depth a Safety or LB would be a possibility in the 3rd in this scenario.

Agree 100% on Wan'Dale Robinson.
Dude screams starting slot receiver and Swiss army knife.
He can be used in a variety of ways like Deebo Samuel.

I don't personally think both Prince and Smith make the roster, but that requires the Bengals to get 2+ OTs in the offseason.


I keep seeing people saying to take a Punter early.
Flat out no.
Very rarely does a K/P go before Rd 5, and often times 5th is considered early.
Bengals have Chrisman in place already for P duties, so they don't need to reach for a P. If Araiza happens to land in their lap in Rd 5 or later and they feel he's BPA over some other depth position player, that's fine. But not before Rd 5.

Considering you downgraded your passing game considerably, I can't agree that its a super bowl roster.

Why would Miami trade a 2nd round pick for who you consider is an overpriced slot receiver for 2 years for about $8M/year when they could use that pick on Wan’dale Robinson for 4 years for a lot less?

(02-28-2022, 03:06 PM)Hammerstripes Wrote: Considering you downgraded your passing game considerably, I can't agree that its a super bowl roster.

Seriously?  Boyd is that much of an impact?  I do not understand those who believe he is irreplaceable, especially at $10M per year.

There are some excellent slot receiver's in this draft that are much faster, less experienced than Boyd, and $9M cheaper.  I added one in Wan’dale Robinson and he may not be realistic or that high of a trade.  But with a much better oline our passing game is upgraded multiple times over, especially with a super-quick rookie instead of TB.

As to Boyd's awesome experience and hands - the guy not only dropped a key pass late in the SB he made an awful decision in the redzone resulting in a sack forcing us to try a FG.  The one time Burrow appeared to be pissed.

Let me ask you this:  Do we have a better chance winning that super bowl vs the Rams with a $10M right guard and Trent Taylor at the slot instead of TB?

The strategy makes a lot of sense. I don't want to lose Uzo or Boyd though. Our passing game won't be nearly as good without those two. Uzo is the cheaper and more valuable option of the two in my opinion--but both are valuable 3rd down targets.

I'd be open to swinging a trade of Boyd for a legit olineman. But I'm not sure we get enough value from a second round pick. The better option may be letting Boyd play out his contract and drafting a WR next year to eventually replace him.

Looking at the draft order I could see DT being a BPA pick at the bottom of the 1st. Tight end is a real possibility as well. I REALLY don't want to see us reach for an offensive lineman (again). How many times have we reached for an offensive lineman in the past several years and missed horribly? I hope the picks last year pan out, but our track record is terrible. We need to make something happen in FA and draft BPA in the draft or we could be staring at another lost draft IMO.

If some of our recent oline draft picks make significant improvement next year it would be absolutely huge. We need to upgrade at least 3 positions along the oline--and I don't see more than 1 or 2 of these recent draft picks being legit starters for us next year (best case scenario). We need to win now--so make some moves.

We've got a SB window right now of 2 or 3 years. The moves we make this offseason are critical to getting that SB win. If we can't win it in the next couple of years, we will have missed out on our best window of opportunity. It's not going to be easy to field a team when we have so much tied up in Burrow, Chase and Higgens.

(02-23-2022, 05:30 PM)casear2727 Wrote: Some will hate this, but I think this roster provides a great chance at multiple runs to the Super Bowl and still have $12.4M in cap space for rookies and other free agents.

Offseason transactions:

Cut:   Waynes, Hopkins

Trade:     Tyler Boyd to Miami for 2nd Round Pick

Resign:    Bates (14.5), (Hill, 7.8), Flowers (2.6), Morgan (965k), Harris (1.1)

Acquire:   Rasul Douglas, CB (7), Trent Brown, RT (10), Austin Corbett, OG (9M), Ryan Jensen, C (12M)


Draft:
1st Wyatt, DT, UGA
2nd Trey McBride, TE, CSU  (from Miami)
2nd Wan’dale Robinson, Slot, UK
3rd Kellen Diesch, OT, ASU
4th Cole Strange, OG, UCT
5th Cordale Flott, CB, LSU
6th ZaQuandre White, RB USC
7th Matt Araiza, P, SDSU (may not be available in the 7th, but was in the simulators)
7th Jack Coan, QB, ND


DT is solid with Hill and Wyatt

TE:  McBride > CJ

Slot: Boyd > Robinson today, but Wan’Dale is explosive and $9M cheaper per year.

Oline is solid with starters: Williams, Carmen/Strange, Jensen, Corbett, Brown
Diesch, Smith, Prince, Adeniji as backups

CB is secure with Douglas (5 INTS for GB), Awuzie, Flott, Flowers, Hilton.

RB2 - White is very underrated and replaces Perine.

QB2 - Coan battle for spot

P - not sure Araiza is available at 7 despite simulators but if so he is has a cannon for a leg.

Boyd for only a 2nd? thats the round they picked him in wasnt it?  I d say at least one more pick thrown in there...maybe a 4th next yr? but Im not sold on trading Boyd even though he pissed me off in SB with that key drop .   

(02-23-2022, 05:30 PM)casear2727 Wrote: Some will hate this, but I think this roster provides a great chance at multiple runs to the Super Bowl and still have $12.4M in cap space for rookies and other free agents.

Offseason transactions:

Cut: Waynes, Hopkins

Trade: Tyler Boyd to Miami for 2nd Round Pick

Resign: Bates (14.5), (Hill, 7.8), Flowers (2.6), Morgan (965k), Harris (1.1)

Acquire: Rasul Douglas, CB (7), Trent Brown, RT (10), Austin Corbett, OG (9M), Ryan Jensen, C (12M)


Draft:
1st Wyatt, DT, UGA
2nd Trey McBride, TE, CSU (from Miami)
2nd Wan’dale Robinson, Slot, UK
3rd Kellen Diesch, OT, ASU
4th Cole Strange, OG, UCT
5th Cordale Flott, CB, LSU
6th ZaQuandre White, RB USC
7th Matt Araiza, P, SDSU (may not be available in the 7th, but was in the simulators)
7th Jack Coan, QB, ND


DT is solid with Hill and Wyatt

TE: McBride > CJ

Slot: Boyd > Robinson today, but Wan’Dale is explosive and $9M cheaper per year.

Oline is solid with starters: Williams, Carmen/Strange, Jensen, Corbett, Brown
Diesch, Smith, Prince, Adeniji as backups

CB is secure with Douglas (5 INTS for GB), Awuzie, Flott, Flowers, Hilton.

RB2 - White is very underrated and replaces Perine.

QB2 - Coan battle for spot

P - not sure Araiza is available at 7 despite simulators but if so he is has a cannon for a leg.

Tyler Boyd is easily one of Mike Brown’s favorite players. He’s also the vet of the receivers. Not happening IMHO. The chemistry with Burrow and the receiving group is excellent but is going to reach epic proportions even more next year. They aren’t messing with that. They will definitely work something out with Uzomah. The Bengals won’t mess with this roster much. They won’t mess with the chemistry. They will bring in a top center and decent guard but they will draft a tackle at #31 and a corner #63

(03-01-2022, 11:21 AM)kalibengal Wrote: Boyd for only a 2nd? thats the round they picked him in wasnt it?  I d say at least one more pick thrown in there...maybe a 4th next yr? but Im not sold on trading Boyd even though he pissed me off in SB with that key drop .   

We would be extremely lucky to get a 2nd for Boyd, that is probably unrealistic. 


Keeping Boyd at $10M for 4 receptions a gm doesnt make a lot of sense, a great slot could be drafted that is way faster and $9m cheaper.

The drop was huge but so was his mistake in the redzone that resulted in a sack and field goal.

(02-28-2022, 11:36 PM)Bengalstripes9 Wrote: The strategy makes a lot of sense. I don't want to lose Uzo or Boyd though. Our passing game won't be nearly as good without those two. Uzo is the cheaper and more valuable option of the two in my opinion--but both are valuable 3rd down targets.

I'd be open to swinging a trade of Boyd for a legit olineman. But I'm not sure we get enough value from a second round pick. The better option may be letting Boyd play out his contract and drafting a WR next year to eventually replace him.

Looking at the draft order I could see DT being a BPA pick at the bottom of the 1st. Tight end is a real possibility as well. I REALLY don't want to see us reach for an offensive lineman (again). How many times have we reached for an offensive lineman in the past several years and missed horribly? I hope the picks last year pan out, but our track record is terrible. We need to make something happen in FA and draft BPA in the draft or we could be staring at another lost draft IMO.

If some of our recent oline draft picks make significant improvement next year it would be absolutely huge. We need to upgrade at least 3 positions along the oline--and I don't see more than 1 or 2 of these recent draft picks being legit starters for us next year (best case scenario). We need to win now--so make some moves.

We've got a SB window right now of 2 or 3 years. The moves we make this offseason are critical to getting that SB win. If we can't win it in the next couple of years, we will have missed out on our best window of opportunity. It's not going to be easy to field a team when we have so much tied up in Burrow, Chase and Higgins.

I disagree with the opinion that " Our passing game won't be nearly as good without those two".  IMO we need to throw all our offensive capital at QB, WR1, Oline, WR2 - with a great line, JoeyB and our 2 wr's the slot, RB and TE can all be very average and still produce.

(03-01-2022, 04:03 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Tyler Boyd is easily one of Mike Brown’s favorite players. He’s also the vet of the receivers. Not happening IMHO. The chemistry with Burrow and the receiving group is excellent but is going to reach epic proportions even more next year. They aren’t messing with that. They will definitely work something out with Uzomah. The Bengals won’t mess with this roster much. They won’t mess with the chemistry. They will bring in a top center and decent guard but they will draft a tackle at #31 and a corner #63

4 receptions a game doesnt really equal great chemistry, and his decision making in the Super Bowl also didnt.

Mike Brown has been an idiot since he took over in my opinion and is still hurting the team with his Carmen input and facilities decisions. 

We have drafted exactly ONE decent oline starter in the last 10 years.

You are a smart guy let me ask you this:  Would we have had a better chance to win that super bowl vs the Rams if we had a $10M RG and Trent Taylor in the slot, instead of playing Adeniji & TB & his salary?