2024 NFL Season Preview: Cincinnati Bengals

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Cincinnati Bengals (Last Year: 9-8)



Season Summary:
The Bengals looked like the best team in the NFL at one point during the season, but things quickly changed when Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending injury. Jake Browning looked good at times, but he obviously couldn’t duplicate what Burrow was capable of in tough matchups.



2024 NFL Season Preview:

Veteran Additions:
RB Zack Moss, TE Mike Gesicki, OT Trent Brown, DT Sheldon Rankins, S Geno Stone, S Vonn Bell.
Early Draft Picks:
OT Amarius Mims, DT Kris Jenkins, WR Jermaine Burton, NT McKinnley Jackson, TE Erick All, CB Josh Newton. Bengals Rookie Forecast
Offseason Losses:
RB Joe Mixon, WR Tyler Boyd, TE Irv Smith, OT Jonah Williams, DT D.J. Reader, CB Chidobe Awuzie, S Nick Scott.

2024 Cincinnati Bengals Offense:
The Bengals began last season slowly because of Joe Burrow’s calf injury, but they picked up steam as the year progressed. By the midway point of the season, the Bengals looked like the best team in the NFL when they destroyed the Bills in a Sunday night affair.

Shortly later, disaster struck. Burrow suffered a wrist injury versus the Ravens on a Thursday night and was lost for the year. Despite a big upset of Jacksonville, the Bengals finished poorly and failed to qualify for the playoffs. Fortunately for the team, Burrow’s wrist is not a long-term issue, so he figures to be 100 percent to start 2024. If so, Cincinnati will be in Super Bowl consideration once again, thanks to the terrific supporting cast.

The receiving corps will continue to be top notch. There was speculation that the Bengals would trade Tee Higgins this offseason, but that did not transpire. With Higgins returning to play across from Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati will once again have two No. 1-caliber receivers at Burrow’s disposal. The third option, Tyler Boyd, is gone, but the Bengals spent a third-round pick on Jermaine Burton. Last year’s rookie, Andrei Iosivas, showed potential as well. There’s also Mike Gesicki, who will offer the sort of athleticism the Bengals have lacked at tight end since the Tyler Eifert days.

Boyd is one of two skill players to leave Cincinnati this offseason. The other is Joe Mixon, who signed with the Texans. However, Mixon showed signs of decline, and fifth-round rookie Chase Brown displayed some potential last year. The Bengals also signed Zack Moss to pair with Brown. Moss was considered a bust from his disappointing stint in Buffalo, but he was terrific for the Colts last season.

Of course, the blocking will dictate how well the Bengals can run, and also keep Burrow safe from another injury. Knowing this, the Bengals targeted an offensive tackle at No. 18 overall. Their top choice, J.C. Latham, was long gone, but their backup option, Amarius Mims, was available. Mims has a lower floor than Latham does, but he has a high ceiling. If Mims can surpass the injury-prone Trent Brown on the depth chart, he could become a terrific bookend for Orlando Brown Jr., who wasn’t as good as advertised last year, but wasn’t poor either.

The Bengals will return all three of their interior blockers. They have two good ones in guard Alex Cappa and center Ted Karras. Assuming one of Brown or Mims pans out, the sole weakness on the offensive line will be guard Cordell Volson, though Volson, as a recent fourth-round pick, has some potential.



2024 Cincinnati Bengals Defense:
Tee Higgins wasn’t the only prominent Bengal demanding a trade this offseason. There’s also Trey Hendrickson, who has threatened retirement if he’s not dealt. If he’s not on the team in 2024, he and his 17.5 sacks from this past season will sorely be missed.

The Bengals, however, have a backup plan. First of all, Sam Hubbard is a solid veteran, though his sack total (6) doesn’t exactly show that. Second, the Bengals used a first-round pick a year ago on Myles Murphy, who will take Hendrickson’s spot in the lineup. Murphy showed some potential as a rookie, recording three sacks in limited playing time.

Cincinnati also added a pair of rookies to their defensive tackle group. Of course, that was necessary, given D.J. Reader’s departure. Two players will be needed to fill Reader’s enormous shoes, and both were chosen on the second day of the draft. Kris Jenkins is a quicker defensive tackle who can provide some pressure in the interior. McKinnley Jackson, conversely, is a monstrous run stuffer. Jenkins and Jackson will compete for playing time next to free agent signing Sheldon Rankins, who can generate a healthy amount of pressure on the quarterback.

Generating less pressure on the quarterback will obviously place more stress on a secondary that has some issues. The Bengals lost Chidobe Awuzie, so they’ll have a liability across from Cam Taylor-Britt, a young player with potential who has been mediocre thus far in his career. D.J. Turner, chosen in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, is a speedy corner, but he struggled mightily as a rookie. Nickel corner Mike Hilton is the best player Cincinnati has at the position unless Taylor-Britt makes improvements in his third season.

The Bengals also had problems at safety last year, thanks to the departure of Jessie Bates. They reacted by signing a pair of new players to start at the position. Poaching Geno Stone from the Ravens was a nice move, as Stone performed well in 2023. Vonn Bell wasn’t as good for Carolina, but he has played in Cincinnati for several seasons prior to his 2023 hiatus, so he knows the system very well.

While the defensive line and secondary have experienced some changes, the linebacking corps remains intact. Logan Wilson is an exceptional player, while Germaine Pratt is a solid second defender at the position. Both are in the prime of their careers, so there shouldn’t be any regression.



2024 Cincinnati Bengals Schedule and Intangibles:
Cincinnati has developed a strong home-field advantage recently, going 53-30-1 over the past 10 seasons, excluding 2019, which was a lost year.

Evan McPherson has kicked well for the Bengals over the past few years. His 26-of-31 output in 2024 may not seem great until it’s considered that all of his misses came from beyond 50. Even still, McPherson was 7-of-12 from 50-plus.

The Bengals needed a better punter, so they used a sixth-round pick on Brad Robbins last year. Robbins was in the middle of the pack in net punting, and he did not do a good job of pinning the opposition inside the 20.

The Bengals obviously have some difficult opponents on the slate because they play in the AFC North. However, they get a last-place schedule, so they’ll have the luxury of battling some weaker foes as well.



2024 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.



2024 Cincinnati Bengals Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):

Quarterbacks		Offensive Line		Secondary
Running Backs		Defensive Line		Special Teams
Receivers		Linebackers		Coaching