CINCINNATI — The Bengals are at the beginning of the franchise’s first offseason with a key new staffer they added last offseason. Scouting research analyst Trey Labounty is ready to help the team connect any scouting information gaps for Cincinnati to have its most efficient and effective offseason yet.
Hitting on talent in free agency and the draft is imperative. LaBounty discussed it with Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson.
“Guys who are maybe more under the radar that we haven’t got as much of a look at. Guys who got flagged for some reason, statistically, or whatever made them pop up,” LaBounty said to Hobson about what his role looks like. “Hey, this is a guy you should take a look at. Maybe this guy’s not worth taking a look at. Kind of like a filter. Time is precious.”
He’s also helping the overall research arm of a Bengals team that’s been criticized for its small off-field evaluation staffing compared to other teams, but has added names like LaBounty and director of football research Sam Francis this decade.
Both are working together to make the next five years Cincinnati’s best mini-run yet.
“It’s bridging the gap between the two worlds,” Francis said about LaBounty. “The scouts may be in there having a conversation about the plausibility of something, and it may not cross their minds that they have access to that information.
“But he’s part of that conversation. Not only can he answer the question, but he also has a better understanding of the types of questions and ideas the scouts may have, and the scouts now have a better understanding of what he has access to. That moves it forward. That never happens if he’s sitting in another room.”
Cincinnati has top 10 picks in every round of the 2026 NFL Draft, starting on April 23, and plenty of defensive talent to pick from, plus, free agency to inject needed talent there.
The unit rose down the stretch of last season against some bad quarterbacks and just needs to play at a mediocre level like it did earlier this decade to give arguably the best passer in the NFL a real chance at glory.
Joe Burrow has to stay healthy on his end of the bargain, and special things just might happen. The path is there, and it really ramps up next week as the East-West Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl festivities get rolling.
