Season Thoughts and Offseason Plan

[Daddy-O]

(02-16-2022, 12:24 PM)JungleRock85 Wrote: First season as a season ticket holder and holy shit what an amazing season this was. It has taken a couple days to shake the loss off because that seemed like a game the Bengals should have won. Even after the penalties it seemed like it was the beginning of the Burrow Super Bowl Champion Legacy drive upcoming. It didn't end the way we all wanted it to end but thankfully there is always hope. The hope doesn't seem as far fetched this year as it did just a few years prior. This team has the money available to shore up the weaknesses and make a real run at this thing again next year.

Must retain: Jessie Bates (no brainer), CJ Uzomah is a must just for leadership and overall solid play we have seen from him lately, I love both Larry Ogunjobi and BJ Hill but this feels like a situation where the Bengals offer both guys the same contract and whoever takes it first is who they role with as the starter beside Reader, I also would love to see the Bengals re-sign Tre Flowers. He won't be a starting CB but his value on Special Teams and ability to matchup with guys like Kelce, Andrews, etc.. is a skillset I wouldn't let walk out the door. There will be other guys they will bring back but these 4/5 are the guys I go after first.

My personal Free Agency thoughts: Some people will stop reading once I say that Terron Armstead is great and all but I just don't see it as a realistic option. He is the top of the top in Free Agency and even though he is an incredible player I cannot see them spending what it would command in both salary and guaranteed money. Jessie Bates is basically our Tier 1 Free Agent signing. There are several guys that interest me in the Tier 2 range to improve the line. James Daniels played really well at Right Guard to end the year for the Bears and is going to be 24 years old still when the season begins. The upside/talent could lock down that spot for years to come. Connor Williams is another younger player that has experience as a starting Guard in the NFL. He seems to be on the rise as well and I think finding guys like this will be very important. Young guys with talent and experience on the rise similar to what we found in Hendrickson, Awuzie, Hilton this year. A Veteran at Right Tackle on a 2 year deal also makes sense. I would look at Trent Brown and Morgan Moses as guys that are proven RIGHT Tackles. I do not think the Bengals want to have to shuffle guys around and that is another reason I do not think we bring in an Armstead or Orlando Brown at Left Tackle because then you are moving Jonah and I just do not think they want to do that. Adding 2 or 3 veterans on the Line will go a long way toward fixing the problems and should be priority one for unrestricted Free Agency. The only other position I would like to see be a 2nd-3rd tier pickup in UFA is Cornerback. Adding someone like Donte Jackson from the Panthers would be my favorite choice but even a Casey Hayward or Richard Sherman on a short term deal makes sense.

Draft: Will post more in the draft thread on this as the time gets closer but if we make the moves above and add lets say James Daniels at Right Guard, Trent Brown at Right Tackle, and Donte Jackson at Cornerback then I would be looking to add Zion Johnson (LG) or Tyler Linderbaum (OC) in the first round and maybe a depth Defensive Tackle for this season like Perrion Winfrey that will eventually be your starter.

I love Jesse Bates at safety but if you are only going to sign one Tier 1 free agent and had to be a tackle vs. a safety it would always be the tackle.  Outside of QB that is the #1 position of value of the team.  

Of course the tackle position costs more than a safety so it hits the cap harder.