Why didn't the Bengals add a proven RB in the offseason

[impactplaya]

The Bengals lost 2 safeties to free agency this year.
Of course Dax Hill his time is now to start and
they added Nick Scott from the Rams to give
Some veteran stability along side Hill.
But when Samaje Perrine departed for the Broncos
The same thinking was not applied to the RB position
The direction was to elevate Treyveon Williams to number #2 and add depth with a draft pick. (CHASE BROWN)
But Samaje Perrine had a very integral role in the Bengals
Offense that I don't think Williams or Brown is ready to
Step into.
With the value of RBs going south, the Bengals had the $$$$ to add a more seasoned replacement for Periine.
If Joe Mixon misses anytime defenses won't have a reason To load the box or even fear the run.

[Soonerpeace]

(08-19-2023, 12:52 PM)impactplaya Wrote: The Bengals lost 2 safeties to free agency this year.
Of course Dax Hill his time is now to start and
they added Nick Scott from the Rams to give
Some veteran stability along side Hill.
But when Samaje Perrine departed for the Broncos
The same thinking was not applied to the RB position
The direction was to elevate Treyveon Williams to number #2 and add depth with a draft pick. (CHASE BROWN)
But Samaje Perrine had a very integral role in the Bengals
Offense that I don't think Williams or Brown is ready to
Step into.
With the value of RBs going south, the Bengals had the $$$$ to add a more seasoned replacement for Periine.
If Joe Mixon misses anytime defenses won't have a reason To load the box or even fear the run.

Perine told them he was staying around an hour later said he was going to Denver. So FA wise was somewhat a waste and for the dollars slotted they felt Trayveon could handle it. Perine gave them a luxury of using him more. With Mixon’s long term prognosis unlikely he actually might be used more. They weren’t going to over spend on a backup RB and guys they liked in the draft didn’t fall their way.

[*bengalfan74*]

This team is going to live and die thru the air, Joe Burrow and the three headed monster. It's a throwing league now.

They don't value the RB position anywhere near as much as they did years ago. And that's pretty much across the league.

[Isaac Curtis: The Real #85]

(08-19-2023, 12:52 PM)impactplaya Wrote: The Bengals lost 2 safeties to free agency this year.
Of course Dax Hill his time is now to start and
they added Nick Scott from the Rams to give
Some veteran stability along side Hill.
But when Samaje Perrine departed for the Broncos
The same thinking was not applied to the RB position
The direction was to elevate Treyveon Williams to number #2 and add depth with a draft pick. (CHASE BROWN)
But Samaje Perrine had a very integral role in the Bengals
Offense that I don't think Williams or Brown is ready to
Step into.
With the value of RBs going south, the Bengals had the $$$$ to add a more seasoned replacement for Periine.
If Joe Mixon misses anytime defenses won't have a reason To load the box or even fear the run.

1) We are trying to save $$$ to re-sign/extend guys and don't want to spend at the RB position on a backup.  

2) We are a pass first team. Hell, we are a pass first AND second team. 

3) We thought Perine would return if we made him a good offer & were caught a little flat-footed when he left. 

4) We feel fairly decent about Mixon as #1 and some combo of Williams, Brown, & Evans filling in on 3rd down and being backups. Good enough that we did not draft an available RB early (though Ribinson or Gibbs would have been) or spend big for a #2 back.

5) The situation at S and RB isn't different, it is the same. We are saving $$ at both spots in order to pay other guys more (Burrow, Higgins, Chase, Pratt, Wilson, Hendrickson, Brown, etc.).  We knew Bates was up, so drafted a replacement, & brought in a vet to start. Battle & Anderson are rookie backups. 

Last year, Bates made $12.9 mil, Bell $7.5, & Hill $2.1. $22.5 mil for our top 3 safeties. This year? Hill $2.6, Scott $2.4, Battle $968k. Roughly $6 mil. $16.5 mil less. Thomas/Anderson are the same. 

At RB, last year, Mixon ($11.4)+ Perine ($1.85) was $13.25 mil. This year, Mixon ($8.5) + Brown ($821k) is roughly $9.3 mil. About $4 mil in savings. Evans & Williams the same. 

Between the 2 spots, we saved $20 mil. We were willing to spend some on starters, but not backups as much. Though we offered Perine $4 mil or so and soend a 3rd on Battle & a 5th on Brown. 

[NUGDUKWE]

They are probably thinking they can do RB commitee after Mixon. I didn't hate the approach before but I definitely see your point now. All they guys are a bit of an unknown how they will handle a bigger workload. I also think we should keep the 4 and if we do all three of the backup guys will most likely see a good amount of playing time thru out the year. It's a bit weird/worrisome when we go from years of hoping Williams can make the team and contribute something to now a lot of us expect him to not only play a lot but also really contribute.

[Soonerpeace]

(08-19-2023, 01:15 PM)Isaac Curtis: The Real #85 Wrote: 1) We are trying to save $$$ to re-sign/extend guys and don't want to spend at the RB position on a backup.  

2) We are a pass first team. Hell, we are a pass first AND second team. 

3) We thought Perine would return if we made him a good offer & were caught a little flat-footed when he left. 

4) We feel fairly decent about Mixon as #1 and some combo of Williams, Brown, & Evans filling in on 3rd down and being backups. Good enough that we did not draft an available RB early (though Ribinson or Gibbs would have been) or spend big for a #2 back.

5) The situation at S and RB isn't different, it is the same. We are saving $$ at both spots in order to pay other guys more (Burrow, Higgins, Chase, Pratt, Wilson, Hendrickson, Brown, etc.).  We knew Bates was up, so drafted a replacement, & brought in a vet to start. Battle & Anderson are rookie backups. 

Last year, Bates made $12.9 mil, Bell $7.5, & Hill $2.1. $22.5 mil for our top 3 safeties. This year? Hill $2.6, Scott $2.4, Battle $968k. Roughly $6 mil. $16.5 mil less. Thomas/Anderson are the same. 

At RB, last year, Mixon ($11.4)+ Perine ($1.85) was $13.25 mil. This year, Mixon ($8.5) + Brown ($821k) is roughly $9.3 mil. About $4 mil in savings. Evans & Williams the same. 

Between the 2 spots, we saved $20 mil. We were willing to spend some on starters, but not backups as much. Though we offered Perine $4 mil or so and soend a 3rd on Battle & a 5th on Brown. 

Great post

[Weazzel80]

What's the point of drafting and developing RB's like Chris Evans, Trayveon Williams, and Chase Brown if you're just going to bury them on the depth chart with a veteran? Especially when we're already paying good money for Mixon.

While I'd still like to see someone establish themselves a good pass protector; I don't consider the RB position to be an issue at all.

[impactplaya]

(08-19-2023, 03:11 PM)Weazzel80 Wrote: What's the point of drafting and developing RB's like Chris Evans, Trayveon Williams, and Chase Brown if you're just going to bury them on the depth chart with a veteran? Especially when we're already paying good money for Mixon.

While I'd still like to see someone establish themselves a good pass protector; I don't consider the RB position to be an issue at all.

I'd rather have a Kareem Hunt or Leonard Fournette
Backing up Mixon rather than hoping one of your 
Inexperienced develops. 
Outside of Mixon there is no one proven in the RB room. Chris Evans is more WR than RB.
Treveyon Williams what has he done at the NFL
Level running the ball?

[DYT_Bengal]

Fournette with Burrow would have been interesting - he is a better version of Perine. I was high on the rookies but after last night, I'm taking a step back. Brown is showing promise but the regular season will tell.

[Frank Booth]

(08-19-2023, 03:54 PM)DYT_Bengal Wrote: Fournette with Burrow would have been interesting - he is a better version of Perine. I was high on the rookies but after last night, I'm taking a step back. Brown is showing promise but the regular season will tell.

maybe in 2017

[Clark W Griswold]

Teams have learned that if you have a good O line then who your RB is really isn’t that important. You can get guys to run the ball effectively if you have studs up front to open holes. What stud RB has recently led his team to a SB? It’s all about the QB/O line/pass catchers on O and those who can affect the QB on D (mainly pass rushers and corners).

[Stewy]

(08-19-2023, 03:41 PM)impactplaya Wrote: I'd rather have a Kareem Hunt or Leonard Fournette
Backing up Mixon rather than hoping one of your 
Inexperienced develops. 
Outside of Mixon there is no one proven in the RB room. Chris Evans is more WR than RB.
Treveyon Williams what has he done at the NFL
Level running the ball?

That's because you're thinking like a fan and not a a Front Office professional.

[Housh]

RB isn’t an issue. Mixon will get at least 70% of every available carry and the ones he doesn’t get Evans/Brown will get.

There was not need to add 4-6M to the RB room where Mixon is already making around that

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(08-19-2023, 01:10 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: This team is going to live and die thru the air, Joe Burrow and the three headed monster. It's a throwing league now.

They don't value the RB position anywhere near as much as they did years ago. And that's pretty much across the league.

You don't need to be a run focused team, but you still need to be able to run it effectively when you need to.

Chiefs last year were only 20th in rushing yards per game (115.9) last year, but 8th in rushing yards per carry (4.7). 4 of the teams ahead of them have run-heavy QBs in Justin Fields, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Daniel Jones to boost their numbers up.

The Bengals were at 29th in rushing yards per game (95.5) and 29th in rushing yards per carry (3.8). 

You don't need to be a rushing juggernaut, but you still can't be trash. When the Super Bowl came around and they needed to run to keep that scary Eagles DL from pinning their ears back on Mahomes, their non-QBs ran it 20 times for 114 yards (5.7 YPC) and a TD.

Even with Burrow and the 3 WRs carrying the offense, they still need to be at least close to average in rushing yards per game and above average in yards per carry. Don't need top-10, but can't be bottom-5. Ideally not bottom-10 either.

[impactplaya]

Last year teams played alot of Cover 2 vs the Bengals
And yet the Bengals running game failed to generate
Any big time big play runs. The Bengals backfield
Is really lacking that speed component.

[Daddy-O]

(08-19-2023, 08:26 PM)impactplaya Wrote: Last year teams played alot of Cover 2 vs the Bengals
And yet the Bengals running game failed to generate
Any big time big play runs. The Bengals backfield
Is really lacking that speed component.

And they still figured it out and went to the AFC Championship game.  The reason they lost had nothing to do with the running back position, rather a depleted OL just like the year before.

Mixon will carry the load, Williams will pick up the slack and the others will develop.  No biggie, RB just aren't important positions anymore in the NFL.  That's why I believe they are the only position group that no longer increases in value year to year.

[*bfine32*]

Because the game has changed. The last few Superbowl Winners had nothing invested in the RB spot.

[Soonerpeace]

(08-19-2023, 08:26 PM)impactplaya Wrote: Last year teams played alot of Cover 2 vs the Bengals
And yet the Bengals running game failed to generate
Any big time big play runs. The Bengals backfield
Is really lacking that speed component.

(08-19-2023, 08:59 PM)Daddy-O Wrote: And they still figured it out and went to the AFC Championship game.  The reason they lost had nothing to do with the running back position, rather a depleted OL just like the year before.

Mixon will carry the load, Williams will pick up the slack and the others will develop.  No biggie, RB just aren't important positions anymore in the NFL.  That's why I believe they are the only position group that no longer increases in value year to year.

Every analytic site had us awful in the run game. At least the other day Mixon broke a long one around the end.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(08-19-2023, 01:10 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: This team is going to live and die thru the air, Joe Burrow and the three headed monster. It's a throwing league now.

They don't value the RB position anywhere near as much as they did years ago. And that's pretty much across the league.

Truth, not to mention the OL's run blocking has been the problem more than the RB's so far in the PS.

[Graphicguy]

We keep forgetting, Perine was a back up with Washington and really didn't get much work until he came here....AS A BACK UP. While Mixon's availability was questioned throughout the court stuff, it looks like that's cleared up (fingers crossed).

Perine will be a back up in Denver, also. Dropping major coin on a back up RB makes zero sense.

I liked Samaje.....a lot. But, there's a reason we drafted RBs like Williams, Brown and Evans. They're cheaper and likely to be as good, if not better.