Cincinnati Bengals (Last Year: 12-4)
2016 NFL Season Preview:
Veteran Additions:
WR Brandon LaFell, OLB Karlos Dansby.
Early Draft Picks:
CB William Jackson, WR Tyler Boyd, LB Nick Vigil, DT Andrew Billings. Bengals Rookie Forecast
Offseason Losses:
WR Marvin Jones, WR Mohamed Sanu, OT Andre Smith, OLB Emmanuel Lamur, OLB A.J.Hawk, CB Leon Hall, S Reggie Nelson.
2016 Cincinnati Bengals Offense:
The 2015 season was the best thing that could’ve happened to the Bengals, short of actually winning a playoff game for the first time in multiple decades. The Broncos winning the Super Bowl should give Cincinnati fans a glimmer of hope. Why? Well, if a decrepit Peyton Manning can advance to the “Big Game” and prevail in it, then Andy Dalton can as well.
The AFC is the weakest it has been in quite a while, so the window is wide open for Dalton. He definitely needs all the help he can get because he’s so limited by his pedestrian arm strength. He can’t hit all of the throws, which is why he has struggled mightily in the playoffs. He has shown that he can prevail over weak competition, however, and he has the defensive support to make a deep run.
But what about the offensive help? Unfortunately for Cincinnati supporters, that could be lacking. A.J. Green is still around to serve as a dominant No. 1 receiver, but both Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu left via free agency for the Lions and Falcons, respectively. Sanu’s departure is only impactful for depth purposes because he wasn’t a very good player, but losing Jones may hurt a lot. It all depends on how quickly second-round rookie Tyler Boyd becomes acclimated to the offense. Boyd had first-round talent, but slipped to the second frame because of some character concerns. It sounds like he’ll play the slot in his first year, while the newly signed Brandon LaFell starts opposite Green. LaFell is as mediocre as they come, which is why Boyd’s progression is so imperative.
Speaking of young players who will have to step up, 2015 third-rounder Tyler Kroft will be asked to start at tight end for several games. Tyler Eifert, who scored 13 touchdowns this past season, underwent ankle surgery in the offseason and is likely to miss several contests because of it. The good news is that Eifert should return by October. The bad news is that he could re-injure himself trying to come back too early, or he may not be 100 percent upon his return to the field.
The Bengals will need their ground attack to be stronger as a result of all this. There’s definitely plenty of room for improvement; after a brilliant rookie campaign, Jeremy Hill endured a severe sophomore slump, averaging a horrible 3.6 yards per carry. Sure, he scored 12 times, but he was extremely inefficient with most of his touches. Giovani Bernard was better, but he’s incapable of handling a full workload. There hasn’t been any talk of Hill training harder in an attempt to rebound, so it’s quite possible that his sluggish play could continue in 2016.
It’s a shame that Hill is wasting his talent. He has the skill to be ranked among the league’s top rushers, and he also has the support of a strong offensive line. The interior is especially potent, particularly the two guards. Kevin Zeitler and Clint Boling form one of the NFL’s best tandems at the position. Center Russell Bodine, however, weighs the unit down with his poor play.
The Bengals’ top lineman last year was left tackle Andrew Whitworth. Despite being 33 for most of the year, Whitworth was still a prolific blocker. He’s bound to decline soon, which is why Cincinnati spent its first two selections in the 2015 NFL Draft on tackles Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher. The former is expected to start on the right side this year in the wake of Andre Smith’s departure. Smith has struggled in recent years, so he won’t be missed much.
2016 Cincinnati Bengals Defense:
As mentioned, Dalton has the defensive support to carry him deep into the playoffs amid a weak AFC field. The Bengals boasted one of the NFL’s best stop units in 2015. They lost two players to free agency, but they figure to have capable replacements for those departures.
The big name to leave was Reggie Nelson, who signed with the Raiders. Though Nelson is about to turn 33, he’s still an excellent player. However, Cincinnati is confident that it has Nelson’s replacement in Shawn Williams. A third-round choice in 2013, Williams has played well in limited action, particularly in terms of coverage. The Bengals like him so much that they extended him through 2020. He’ll start next to George Iloka, who enjoyed a stellar 2015 campaign.
The second player to depart was Leon Hall, who, as of this writing, has yet to sign with a team. This is puzzling to say the least, as Hall performed well this past season. To compensate for the loss, the team’s first-round pick was used on William Jackson. Though Jackson wasn’t the Bengals’ preferred choice – they wanted Josh Doctson, Corey Coleman or William Fuller – the Houston product is an athletic prospect who put together great tape in college, so he should be a positive contributor right away. And unlike many first-round cornerbacks, he won’t be asked to be a No. 1 player right away, as Cincinnati still has Pacman Jones, who was great last year. Jones turns 33 in September, so a decline could be coming, however. The Bengals also have Dre Kirkpatrick, who labored through his 2015 campaign because of a shoulder injury, and Darqueze Dennard, who was chosen in the opening round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Cincinnati made some changes at linebacker as well. The team lost a couple of defenders in Emmanuel Lamur and A.J. Hawk. Neither player was any good last year, however, and Cincinnati has much better players at the position. This includes Vontaze Burfict, who won’t be on the field for the first three games of the season because of his stupidity at the end of the playoff loss to Pittsburgh. The Bengals will be fine though, as they’ll have their stud linebacker on the field again in Week 4. He’ll start alongside Rey Maualuga, a somewhat decent defender, and Karlos Dansby, who was signed over from Cleveland. Dansby has been a great linebacker for a very long time, but it remains to be seen how much he’ll be able to give the Bengals, given that he turns 35 in November. One thing is certain: Dansby can’t possibly be worse than Hawk was last year.
Things are status quo for the Bengals on the defensive line, save for the fourth-round choice used on Andrew Billings. The Baylor product was expected to be chosen late in the first round or sometime in the second frame, so Cincinnati obtained a steal. Billings may eventually take over for the rapidly regressing Domata Peko. Meanwhile, Geno Atkins figures to be his dominant self once again. Atkins has fully rebounded from an injury that crippled his 2014 campaign, as he was one of the premier defensive tackles in the league this past season.
As with Atkins and Peko, the same defensive ends will start in 2016. That would be Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson. The former was solid last season, though he didn’t particularly shine in any one area. Johnson, however, didn’t provide any sort of pass rush despite Cincinnati believing that he would be able to do so when it signed him over from Tampa Bay the previous offseason. It would be nice if 2013 second-rounder Margus Hunt and 2014 third-rounder Will Clarke step up, but neither has shown any sort of flashes in the NFL thus far.
2016 Cincinnati Bengals Schedule and Intangibles:
Cincinnati has developed a strong homefield advantage recently, going 19-6-1 over the past three seasons. This, however, hasn’t mattered in the playoffs, as the Bengals lost to both the Chargers and Steelers as hosts recently.
Mike Nugent was just OK this past season. He hit 23-of-28 field goals, which didn’t yield a great percentage (82.1), but he missed only one of his 49 extra points.
Punter Kevin Huber ranked fifth in net punting back in 2014. He was a solid 11th last year.
It was a mixed bag for Cincinnati’s special teams. The team outgained opponents by 1.8 yards on punt returns, but was outclassed by two yards on kickoffs.
The Bengals have a fair amount of tough games and easy matchups this year. For example, three of their first seven games are against the Jets, Dolphins and Browns. However, three of the other opponents are the Steelers, Broncos and Patriots.
2016 Cincinnati Bengals Rookies:
Go here for the Bengals Rookie Forecast, a page with predictions like which rookie will bust and which rookie will become a solid starter.
2016 Cincinnati Bengals Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):
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2016 Cincinnati Bengals Analysis: The Bengals are one of the better teams in the NFL. They have a great defense, a couple of play-makers on offense and a strong offensive line. Their quarterback has been weighing them down, but as mentioned, the AFC is very weak right now, so there’s certainly an opportunity for Cincinnati to finally make a deep push in the playoffs.
Projection: 10-6 (Tied 1st in AFC North)
NFL Draft Team Grade: A Grade
Goals Entering the 2016 NFL Draft: The Bengals did a good job of retaining most of their free agents this offseason, but a couple of positions that got away from them were receiver and safety. I expect those spots to be addressed early in the 2016 NFL Draft. Elsewhere, Cincinnati still needs to fix defensive tackle, which has been an area of weakness for a while now.
2016 NFL Draft Accomplishments: Good news-bad news for the Bengals, and I’ll begin with the latter. The bad news is that the three targets Cincinnati had planned for No. 24: Josh Doctson, Corey Coleman and William Fuller – in that order – were all snatched off the board by the 22nd pick. Thus, the Bengals obtained their fourth option, at best. The good news is, and I’m sure Cincinnati fans will appreciate this, the front office repeatedly trolled the Steelers throughout the draft, taking players Pittsburgh would’ve considered (William Jackson, Andrew Billings) on multiple occasions.
Oh, and there’s some great news, too, and that happens to be the fact that Cincinnati obtained some outstanding prospects in the 2016 NFL Draft. Beginning with Jackson, there was some buzz that he could be chosen in the early teens, so obtaining him at No. 24 was clutch. I also loved the Tyler Boyd pick in the second round. Boyd had more talent than any receiver entering the second round, yet Cincinnati was able to snatch him with the 55th pick. Boyd comes with some character concerns, but the Bengals have succeeded with players of his ilk in the past.
The Bengals’ best selection, in my opinion, was Andrew Billings in the fourth round. Billings fell for no explicable reason; he easily could’ve gone during the first day. In fact, he’s someone Cincinnati could’ve trolled Pittsburgh with on Thursday. Billings figures to be a solid replacement for Domata Peko in the near future.
There were a couple of picks I wasn’t a big fan of, such a Nick Vigil and Cody Core, but they weren’t awful. Thus, the Bengals deserve a great grade for what they were able to accomplish this weekend.
NFL Draft Individual Grades:
24. William Jackson, CB, Houston A- Grade
The poor Bengals wanted a receiver badly. They had Josh Doctson atop their board, followed by Corey Coleman and William Fuller. They were all gone, so the Bengals had to look elsewhere. William Jackson is definitely not a bad consolation prize. As a matter of fact, I love the pick. William Jackson has both great film and unbelievable athleticism. There was some speculation that he could go as high as No. 11 to the Bears or No. 14 to the Raiders. Jackson’s a great selection here, as he fills a big need in the secondary while providing good value.
Follow @walterfootball for updates.
55. Tyler Boyd, WR, Pittsburgh A Grade
Tyler Boyd had some character concerns, so the Bengals taking him is hardly a surprise. That’s not a knock on the team, as they’ve done incredibly well with such players over the years. I think Boyd will work out similarly, as he was the top-rated receiver (or perhaps tied with Michael Thomas) heading into Day 2. The Bengals obviously had to find a receiver after losing Marvin Jones and missing out on all of their first-round candidates (Josh Doctson, Corey Coleman, William Fuller), and they certainly obtained a good one.
87. Nick Vigil, LB, Utah State C+ Grade
At least one team was set to draft Nick Vigil in the fourth round, but this isn’t an egregious reach. Vigil is a solid player who should be able to contribute on special teams right away. He could eventually work his way into the starting lineup and replace Rey Maualuga, but I think the Bengals could’ve gone better with this choice.
122. Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor A+ Grade
The best pick of Day 3 thus far. There’s no reason Andrew Billings should’ve fallen out of the second round. He could’ve gone in the first as well, and it wouldn’t have been a problem. No one seems to have any clue why Billings dropped, but the Bengals won’t care. They obtained a great football player who could start sometime in the near future, taking the place of Domata Peko.
161. Christian Westerman, G, Arizona State A Grade
The Bengals are drafting steals like it’s their job. I had Christian Westerman mocked at the end of the second round, and it was surprising to see him fall out of the second day entirely. Cincinnati has an expiring contract at guard after this season, so Westerman could legitimately compete for a starting spot in 2017. This is a great pick.
199. Cody Core, WR, Ole Miss C Grade
It makes sense to select a second receiver, but everything about Cody Core screams average. Core is a middling athlete who had mediocre production playing across from Laquon Treadwell at Ole Miss. He’s not a good route-runner either, so it’s difficult to imagine him developing into anything substantial beyond a quality special-teamer.
245. Clayton Fejedelem, S, Illinois B- Grade
Clayton Fejedelem didn’t produce much at Illinois, but had a decent 2015 campaign. He helped himself by showing off some solid athleticism at his Pro Day, so perhaps that’s why the Bengals are drafting him. Cincinnati probably could’ve done something better here, but this isn’t a bad pick by any means.
Season Summary:
It appeared as though the Bengals finally got over the hump. They made a tremendous comeback against the Steelers in the playoffs, and all they needed to do was run out the clock. However, a Jeremy Hill lost fumble and a pair of dumb personal-foul penalties ruined their chances, forcing Cincinnati to go home early once again in disappointment.
Offseason Moves:
Team Needs:
- Defensive Tackle: Domata Peko’s play has declined exponentially, and all he can do now is run onto the field from the sideline and hit people. An upgrade is desperately needed next to Geno Atkins, and one can be acquired at No. 24 overall. Re-signed Pat Sims
- Two Wide Receivers: The Bengals had just a pair of talented receivers last season in A.J. Green and Marvin Jones. The latter, however, is an impending free agent. Even if he’s re-signed, another wideout will have to be obtained. Signed Brandon LaFell
- Center: The Bengals have a great offensive line, but the center position is a major weakness, as Russell Bodine struggled once again. A second-day pick could fix this problem.
- Strongside Linebacker: Vincent Rey is a free agent, so the Bengals will need a third linebacker to go along with Vontaze Burfict and Rey Maualuga. I expect an early draft choice to be used to remedy this. Signed Karlos Dansby; re-signed Vincent Rey
- Defensive End: The Bengals brought back Michael Johnson, but he proved to be a predictable disappointment. He played a lot, as neither Margus Hunt nor Will Clarke showed enough to earn playing time. A pass-rusher should be obtained in one of the first few rounds.
- Safety: Cincinnati’s two safeties, Reggie Nelson and George Iloka, were both outstanding in 2015. However, they’re both set to hit the market. At least one will need to be re-signed. Re-signed George Iloka
- Cornerback: The Bengals were extremely deep at cornerback, but they stand to lose at least one of Pacman Jones and Leon Hall, as both are entering free agency. If neither is brought back, this will be a much greater need. Re-signed Pacman Jones
- Quarterback: I don’t see Andy Dalton leading his team deep into the playoffs, and A.J. McCarron is just “meh.” However, I don’t think the Bengals will even touch this position this offseason.
Follow me @walterfootball for updates.
2016 NFL Free Agent Signings:
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Karlos Dansby, ILB, Browns. Age: 34. 
Signed with Bengals
Karlos Dansby was once one of the top inside linebackers in the NFL. That’s not the case anymore, as he’ll celebrate his 35th birthday in November. However, Dansby still performed well last year, particularly in coverage. He should still have two or so quality seasons remaining.
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Brandon LaFell, WR, Patriots. Age: 29.
Signed with Bengals
Brandon LaFell was a quality option for Tom Brady during the Patriots’ Super Bowl run in 2014, catching 74 passes for 953 yards and seven touchdowns. These numbers were inflated because of Brady, however, and LaFell could never get into a groove this past season because of a foot injury that forced him to miss five games. LaFell isn’t terrible, but he shouldn’t be a starter any longer.
Cincinnati Bengals Free Agents:
Salary Cap: TBA.
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George Iloka, S, Bengals. Age: 26.
Re-signed with Bengals (5 years, $30 million)
George Iloka had been better in run support than coverage heading into 2015, but he has show major improvement in the latter this season. He’ll be only 26 in March, so he still has plenty of room for growth.
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Reggie Nelson, S, Bengals. Age: 32.
Signed with Raiders
Reggie Nelson has been a terrific coverage safety for a long time. He’ll turn 33 in September, but safeties can play longer than most positions, so he should be fine for a few more seasons.
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Leon Hall, CB, Bengals. Age: 31.
Pacman Jones was better than Leon Hall in 2015, but Hall is rated higher here because he’s a year younger and has been dominant for so much longer. Regardless, losing both would be crushing for Cincinnati.
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Pacman Jones, CB, Bengals. Age: 32.
Re-signed with Bengals (3 years)
In my season preview heading into 2015, I listed Pacman Jones as just a solid depth player at cornerback. As it turns out, Jones blossomed into a shutdown cornerback. He won’t have many more years like that, given that he’ll turn 33 in late September, but he’s still going to command a ton of money this offseason.
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Andre Smith, OT, Bengals. Age: 29.
Signed with Vikings (1 year)
It’s hard to tell what happened to Andre Smith. He used to be a stout right tackle, but his play has dropped off the past couple of years. He’s been mediocre, at best, since 2014. Perhaps he’ll be able to rebound.
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Marvin Jones, WR, Bengals. Age: 26.
Signed with Lions (5 years, $40 million; $17 million guaranteed)
Save for the one season he missed, Marvin Jones has increased his numbers each year. He caught 65 passes for 816 yards in 2015. He’s an adequate No. 2 receiver with plenty of potential.
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Vincent Rey, OLB, Bengals. Age: 28.
Re-signed with Bengals (3 years, $10.5 million)
Vincent Rey had been a capable starter when given the chance prior to this season, but he was a bit of a disappointment in 2015. Perhaps he’d be better at middle linebacker.
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Wallace Gilberry, DE, Bengals. Age: 31.
Signed with Lions
Age may have caught up to Wallace Gilberry, whose sack total dropped from 7.5 in 2013 to two this past year. However, he’s still a capable situational pass-rusher.
- Pat Sims, DT, Bengals. Age: 30. — Re-signed with Bengals
- Emmanuel Lamur, OLB, Bengals. Age: 27. — Signed with Vikings (2 years)
- Mohamed Sanu, WR, Bengals. Age: 27. — Signed with Falcons (5 years, $32.5 million; $14 million guaranteed)
- Eric Winston, OT, Bengals. Age: 32. — Re-signed with Bengals (1 year)
- Chris Lewis-Harris (RFA), CB, Bengals. Age: 27.
- Brandon Thompson, DT, Bengals. Age: 26. — Re-signed with Bengals
- Brandon Tate, WR/KR, Bengals. Age: 28. — Re-signed with Bengals
- A.J. Hawk, OLB, Bengals. Age: 32.
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