I probably should have started my "Off-Season Priorities" series with an easier team to do, but since they are my 2nd favorite team and one of my loyal readers (yes I have at least 1, Thank you Cam) said that he "couldn't wait" to see this article I decided to write it first, even before the Cowboys one. I have been struggling with a format to do this, so for now I am just going to do what I have always done, wing it. I am going to attempt to identify some areas of strength, weakness, what I think they should do in the draft (actual players and where I think they will be available for them), and which of their known free agents they should re-sign and possibly some free agents they should pursue (that is if their is free agency this year).
Quarterback - I figured I would start with the most important position on the field. First their backup QB's (Jordan Palmer & Dan LeFevour) are just that; backups and not very good ones, at least not yet in the case of LeFevour. I believe that LeFevour has potential to be a quality backup in due time, so I would continue to stash him on the practice squad and see if he can become a competent NFL backup, try to get him plenty of snaps in training camp and preseason. LeFevour had a rough time in Chicago as he began his transition from a college spread offense to a pro style game and was released when they brought in their own veteran backup, he showed flashes late and in a preseason game against the Cardinals (10 of 12 - 100 yards - TD).
With Carson Palmer threatening to retire if he does not get traded, I believe the best route for the Bengals is to grant him his wish and trade him for a 2nd and a 4th or 6th round pick (San Fransisco would be the most logical trading partner in my mind with Minnesota, Seattle, and Arizona not far behind). After that I would try to sign a veteran replacement for Jordan Palmer (Carson's brother) and then release him as he wouldn't make many, if any, NFL rosters as even a 3rd stringer. With their 1st second round pick I would try to grab Ryan Mallett out of Arkansas, he is a QB coming out of a pro system in college who is the most NFL ready QB in the draft. With the off-field concerns potentially dropping him (Bengals have never cared about off-field concerns), according to everything I have read it appears he will be available when the Bengals pick early in the 2nd round, and I believe that would be the STEAL of the draft (not just saying that because I am a Razorback Homer, I took my homer hat off to write this article).
When it comes to contingency plans for the Bengals at the QB position I believe they need to have a veteran able to actually play still
Running Back - Cedric Benson appeared to have regressed this past year, and I believe that was due to the team abandoning the run to feed the ball to their diva WR's. I believe Benson still has plenty of tread left on his tires, but I think he will be hard for the Bengals to sign as he will want more money than he is ultimately worth. Even if they are able to sign him to a new deal I believe they should go after a potential game breaking RB fairly early in the draft, the one I like for the Bengals is Roy Helu RB out of Nebraska. He was under utilized in college, only tallying 188 carries in his final season, but averaging over 6 yards per carry. After putting up the best numbers of any RB at the combine his stock is on the rise. He has great speed, great vision, runs hard, and is not only a leader on the field but a leader off the field and active in the community. I believe that the Bengals should grab him with their 2nd 2nd round pick or early in the third.
Their current backup is Bernard Scott who has the potential to be an every down back in the NFL and should be used more if they cannot reach a contract agreement with Benson (I actually think a 1-2 punch of rookie Helu and Scott would be better than any combination involving Benson). Scott also has show versatility by being a solid kick returner and should be used more out of the backfield on passing downs. His pass protection needs some work, but he comes off as the type of guy willing and able to learn.
If they are unable to get Helu, either because he went before they could get him or they got Benson resigned and decided they did not need him, other backs to look at late in the draft are: Anthony Allen - Georgia Tech - Played mostly fullback in college but has the cutback ability and size to fit the Bengals scheme, Dion Lewis - Pitt - Fast with a lot of lower body power, has good vision and is a patient runner who sets up blocks very well.
Wide Receiver - I am not going to get into the T.O. and Ochocinco drama as I believe those angles have been beaten to death, I do not think either will be back with the team next year. I believe the Bengals are stacked at the WR position with #2 and #3 receivers, but I feel they lack a true #1. They have Jordan Shipley as their #1 slot guy and he should excel in that role with his vision and willingness to go across the middle. Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell will be the deep threats. Simpson especially began to show some real progress late last year and hopefully learning new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden's playbook will not delay his development. Quan Cosby should continue to dig out his niche as a mainly special teams player until he develops better route running ability, at that time I see him being a better slot receiver that Shipley.
Since the Bengals lack a true #1 receiver in my opinion, this is the area that I believe they should address with their 1st pick in the draft (#4 overall). While 99% of so called "draft experts" have A.J. Green as the #1 WR, I have always had Julio Jones ranked ahead of him, and largely based on his superb run blocking ability. If they choose either WR, it will not be a bad pick, and they should both be able to make a Dez Bryant like impact as a rookie. To read more about my opinions on the WR's check my previous post.
Tight End - The Bengals used a 1st round draft pick 2 years ago to draft Jermaine Gresham and I believe he will be a big playmaking threat for them moving forward. Gruden's version of the west coast offense calls for a lot of short 3-step drops highly involving the tight end, with Gresham's incredible athletic ability couple with solid but not great blocking skills he should dominate and become one of the top tight ends in the league in the next couple of years.
Offensive Line - I am not real familiar with their offensive line unfortunately. I do know that their is anchored by Left Tackle Andrew Whitworth, a big physical tackle that is best at run blocking but uses his hands well in pass protection. The supposed "savior" of the offensive line was 2009 1st round pick Andre Smith, he is lazy, consistently out of shape and injured and could be cut this year as it seems he will never work hard enough to become even a decent backup. From what I can tell their run blocking needs a lot of improvement and I believe Gruden's quick strike offense will make their pass blocking better because of the shorter drops and quick releases designed to not make the O-Line hold their blocks as long. O-Line is an area that they desperately need to upgrade in the draft to help get the running game back on track. I will try to do more research on their O-Line and possible O-Line prospects for them.
Well, once again this ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated. I promise I am trying to get better at shortening these things up. Next will be the Bengals Defense....
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