Although in reality the Bengals have done a relatively good job of drafting and developing talent at most positions. Whether you look at running back where they have Joe Mixon, or Giovanni Bernard, to wide receiver where its Tyler Boyd, Auden Tate, or Tee Higgins, or defensive backs with Jessie Bates III, however it's their work in free agency this offseason that has me intrigued. The Bengals have gone out bargain shopping and have managed to bring in quality talent at several positions.
At cornerback they have signed Eli Apple, Mike Hilton, Chidobe Awuzie, Tony Brown, and Jalen Davis. On top of that they brought in Trey Hendrickson a defensive end from the Saints that was extremely under rated. He produced 13.5 sacks last season but will team up with Sam Hubbard, DJ Reader, and now Larry Ogunjobi. Last but not least they brought in Reilly Reiff to play right tackle.
If you look at these moves a couple of them stand out to me as particularly impactful moves. These moves are the signings of Larry Ogunjobi, and Mike Hilton. Ogunjobi was a former Cleveland Brown who was a former 3rd round pick. He was signed to replace a man who helped him transition to the NFL in Geno Atkins. He was also signed away from the rival Browns having intimate knowledge of the Browns defense, and was replaced in Cleveland by an older often injured Malik Jackson. Hilton was a very versatile and effective nickelback for the Steelers. Originally undrafted he bounced around as a rookie before landing in Pittsburgh.he quickly became a contributor, racking up 61 tackles, 4 sacks, 6 passes tipped, 2 ints, 1 forced fumble. He went on to spend 4 years with the Steelers racking up an impressive 59 games, 217 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 32 passes defended, 7 ints, 3 forced fumbles, 5 recoveries. He is the type of guy who can play some safety, some nickelback, and is very productive at both spots. He will likely act as the third cornerback and safety in Cincy. It will be interstate to see if he is used as a pass rusher as often. 9.5 sacks for any DB in 4 seasons is impressive production.
Critics will likely look at the names and not see anyone flashy and assume this is a B level free agent class featuring a bunch of second tier players which could be true if you aren't willing to look at the bigger picture. With Eli Apple, Chidobe Awuzie, Trae Waynes and Darius Phillips competing for time outside, Mike Hilton, in the nickel with Tony Brown back as his primary backup and none of these men are over 28 years old. At safety you have Jeremy Bates III (25) and Vonn Bell (27) another former Saint. At LB they have last year's rookies Akeem Davis-Gaither, and Logan Wilson who both played well despite not being starters out of the gate, and will look to take over where Josh Bynes, and Jordan Evan's left off. In the middle Germaine Pratt is only headed into his 3rd season. On the defensive line you have Hendrickson, Reader, and Ogunjobi all currently 26, and Hubbard who is 25.
On offense your oldest wide receiver is Tyler Boyd at 26, at tight end Cj Uzomah is the elder statesman at just 28 years old, Burrow is 24, while his backup Allen is 28, Mixon is 24, Williams is 23. Bernard is your oldest skill position player at 29. On offensive line Reilly Reiff is your oldest player at 33 and he was just signed, presumably as a stop gap. You have just 4 players over 30 years old, 2 of which are specialists that play special teams, the other two are offensive linemen. All of this adds up to an extremely young roster that can grow together over the next year and likely come out of the gate on fire in 2022 after they have had a year to gel I could see a 8-8 or 7-9 season this year building hype headed into the following year in which the Zac Taylor led Bengals make the playoffs as a wildcard team.
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