Having a great QB on a rookie deal is a cheat code in the NFL

[THE PISTONS]

And the past 2 seasons, the Bengals have taken advantage of it.

While the Bengals have drafted well the past 4 drafts (Burrow, Chase, Higgins, McPherson, Wilson, etc).

This team has also been built with free agency: (Reader, Hendrickson, Awuzie, Vonn Bell, Karras, Hilton, Cappa, Orlando Brown, etc.) <-- That's a massive amount of talent to infuse into a roster.

And trade (BJ Hill).

One would have to expect the Top 5 picks to stop happening, so free agency is a big path to success.

So with a QB highly paid, it's imperative to hit on draft picks AND to optimize development and scheme. Another way of looking at it is that it's back to using the same model they used under Marvin where they signed 3rd and 4th tier free agents because of cost...which puts a premium on draft picks.

Do the Bengals have the right staff in place to win without the cheat code on? I'd argue that offensive lineman atleast aren't being developed. How many players actually improved on the line from what they started as?