08-06-2022, 11:36 AM
I'm not overly concerned about the d-line or the secondary until they give me a reason to be in meaningful games.
It's starting to sound like a broken record, but the Bengals need to start planning to shell out money to keep their core intact.
The way to do that and still field a deep roster is by making smart, effective draft picks in middle rounds to fill rotational roles and eventually become significant contributors. That's exactly what I see them doing.
Before the 2020 draft, the linebackers depth sucked. They used several picks on the position. Now the team has good, fairly experienced linebacker depth. In addition to that, they snagged Kareem, who's shown he can contribute at DE who needed.
Before the 2021 draft, they needed depth on both lines. They drafted Ossai and Sample and Shelvin. Who knows what Shelvin is at this point? Ossai is a guy that seems capable he can get on the field, and Sample was solid and has a year of NFL seasoning under his belt.
This year, they addressed the needs in the secondary with Hill, Taylor-Britt, and Tycen Anderson. They added Carter to fill out the depth chart behind BJ Hill. You also have flotsam like Wyatt and Gunter hanging around.
A veteran depth signing here and there might not be the worst idea, but if some or many of the names I just typed don't pan out, then the team is in deep shit. I actually feel like the staff has a pretty good idea of what they are doing and trust that they have guys in house that can step into the needed roles.
As for what they might actually need, I'm still a bit worried about the backup quarterback and the 3rd down back positions. If Evans can't stay healthy, I don't think the current plan with Perine is all that potent. Mixon apparently doesn't have a lot of interest in blocking, or perhaps he's just not good enough at it to be capable in the role. It's not a huge issue, but I think they could do better. This issue was exposed badly in the Super Bowl, and not much was done to address it at all in the offseason. Gio was a terrific blocker and was practically perfect in that role. His absence probably stung a little last season. He was making too much money, so I see the logic behind the cut, but the role has yet to be effectively filled.
It's starting to sound like a broken record, but the Bengals need to start planning to shell out money to keep their core intact.
The way to do that and still field a deep roster is by making smart, effective draft picks in middle rounds to fill rotational roles and eventually become significant contributors. That's exactly what I see them doing.
Before the 2020 draft, the linebackers depth sucked. They used several picks on the position. Now the team has good, fairly experienced linebacker depth. In addition to that, they snagged Kareem, who's shown he can contribute at DE who needed.
Before the 2021 draft, they needed depth on both lines. They drafted Ossai and Sample and Shelvin. Who knows what Shelvin is at this point? Ossai is a guy that seems capable he can get on the field, and Sample was solid and has a year of NFL seasoning under his belt.
This year, they addressed the needs in the secondary with Hill, Taylor-Britt, and Tycen Anderson. They added Carter to fill out the depth chart behind BJ Hill. You also have flotsam like Wyatt and Gunter hanging around.
A veteran depth signing here and there might not be the worst idea, but if some or many of the names I just typed don't pan out, then the team is in deep shit. I actually feel like the staff has a pretty good idea of what they are doing and trust that they have guys in house that can step into the needed roles.
As for what they might actually need, I'm still a bit worried about the backup quarterback and the 3rd down back positions. If Evans can't stay healthy, I don't think the current plan with Perine is all that potent. Mixon apparently doesn't have a lot of interest in blocking, or perhaps he's just not good enough at it to be capable in the role. It's not a huge issue, but I think they could do better. This issue was exposed badly in the Super Bowl, and not much was done to address it at all in the offseason. Gio was a terrific blocker and was practically perfect in that role. His absence probably stung a little last season. He was making too much money, so I see the logic behind the cut, but the role has yet to be effectively filled.
