A lot goes into building a competitive NFL roster. You need the quarterback; everyone knows that, but you also need to protect him. He needs guys to hand off to and to throw to, and that’s just the offensive side of the ball.
The Cincinnati Bengals are primed for another run at the Super Bowl in 2024, and ESPN ranked them as the seventh-best roster in the league. They also revealed each team’s greatest strength, weakness, a possible 2024 X-factor and a non-starter to know.
First, the ranking.
The Bengals came in seventh behind the 49ers, Chiefs, Ravens, Jets, Lions and Cowboys. Just behind them are the Texans, Bills, and Eagles to round out the top 10. The Browns came in at 12th place, and the Steelers were 18th. The last-place team was the Giants.
It’s difficult to argue against a top-10 placement for the Bengals. They have the quarterback, and they seemingly have the line. There are questions on the defensive side of the ball just because there are a lot of new faces, both on the line and in the secondary.
As far as the Bengals’ greatest strength, ESPN believes it’s at wide receiver.
“Not many teams can match Cincinnati’s elite Ja’Marr Chase/Tee Higgins duo,” Mike Clay wrote. “Chase sits seventh in the league in receiver yards (3,717)( and third in TD catches (29) since he was drafted in 2021. Higgins has battled back injuries, but before a down year in 2023, he had 900-plus yards in three straight seasons to begin his pro career. Longtime slot man Tyler Boyd departed, but the team has some solid depth options in Jermaine Burton, Andrei Iosivas, and Trenton Irwin.”
The Bengals placed the franchise tag on Higgins to keep him in Cincinnati for one last ride in hopes he can help bring the Lombardi Trophy to the Queen City. They grabbed Burton in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, where he fell due to some off-field concerns, but the talent is there. They also have Iosivas, who impressed in 2023, Irwin, who has always come up big when needed and we can’t forget about Charlie Jones.
Speaking of Irwin, he’s the non-starter ESPN believes everyone should know.
“It’s hard to tell who’s going to be the third receiver behind Chase and Higgins, but Irwin actually scored higher than Higgins in ESPN’s receiver tracking metrics last season and had a receiving DVOA of 20.8%, which ranked 10th among receivers with 10-49 pass targets,” wrote Aaron Schatz.
When it comes to the team’s biggest weakness, Clay believes it’s running back.
“The Joe Mixon era is over, and the Bengals’ succession plan was to sign journeyman Zack Moss as their lead back,” he wrote. “Moss — a 2020 third-round pick — has certainly flashed as a runner, with 4.4 yards per carry over his career, but he has never handled a full workload for an entire season (career-high 183 carries) and has yet to handle a big load in the passing game (career-high 37 targets). Second-year back Chase Brown also flashed last season, although the sample was very small (58 touches). There’s potential here, but both backs are unproven commodities in the roles they’re about to play.”
While the Mixon era is over, I disagree with the above assessment just based on the fact I don’t believe the Bengals are trying to replace him. Instead of having a bellcow back, I believe the Bengals, like so many other teams, will take a committee approach. Moss seems more comfortable running out of the shotgun than Mixon did, and he is a better pass blocker than Mixon was.
The offense will flow through Joe Burrow, and the Bengals will likely ride the hot hand. We also can’t forget about Trayveon Williams, who averaged 4.6 yards on 15 carries last year. I could see him playing a much larger part in 2024.
A larger weakness on the team could be the defensive line. While the Bengals have a solid core group including Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, BJ Hill and newly signed free agent Sheldon Rankins, they lost DJ Reader in free agency and the interior defensive line will rely on rookies Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson more than they’d probably like this early in their careers.
Finally, Seth Walder believes the team’s X-factor could be cornerbacks Cam Taylor-Britt and DJ Turner.
“They allowed 2.0 and 1.7 yards per coverage snap last season, per NFL Next Gen Stats, the second and eighth most, respectively, among outside CBs with at least 300 coverage snaps,” he wrote. “With Chidobe Awuzie gone in free agency, these two young DBs will have to step up.”
CTB’s name is written in permanent ink on the depth chart as a starting outside corner, but the other side seems to be open. Turner, who flashed at times throughout the 2023 season, would seem to be the most likely starter, but Dax Hill, who transitioned from safety to corner this offseason, was taking snaps with the first team in training camp.
With the addition of Geno Stone and Vonn Bell to the safety room, coupled with a possible breakout season for Jordan Battle, the secondary could be a strength for the Bengals in 2024 instead of the weakness they were last season.
What do you think of ESPN’s rankings? Sound off.