The Cincinnati Bengals remain a polarizing team in power rankings ahead of the NFL draft.
Much of that comes from Cincinnati’s lukewarm trip to free agency, which took a clear backseat to the big-money extensions for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
That’s reflected in a No. 10 spot in the power rankings from Touchdown Wire’s Jarrett Bailey:
“Anything that can be said about the Chargers with receivers or the Texans with their offensive line can be said about the Bengals’ defense. Good on them for locking down Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to long-term deals, but if the defense doesn’t get better, it won’t matter. That said, no teams are lining up to have to play that offensive trio of Joe Burrow, Chase, and Higgins.”
Given the moves so far, the Bengals enter the draft with a big need at offensive guard and across the defense. Much of free agency went to re-signing their own guys like B.J. Hill and Mike Gesicki, while adding role players like nose tackle T.J. Slaton.
Still, the fact the Bengals are a top-10 team in power rankings speaks to the upside of a Joe Burrow team. A few unfortunate breaks swing the other direction last year and perhaps they could have backed into the playoffs.
That’s certainly the logic followed by Zac Taylor and the Bengals this offseason, where a few mild additions and a big reliance on an overhaul to the coaching staff are expected to be the major turnaround factors.
