Offense 

For this Bengals team there’s not too many conversations to be had for the offensive side of the ball to be honest. They have a majority of their team returning from last year and while that’s certainly notable it’s not something I can write too much about. 

• They have one of the five best QBs in the league with Joe Burrow and a solid backup behind him in Jake Browning as well. 
• Their WR core is core is returning and while I didn’t necessarily agree with the approach to resign Tee Higgins it does give them one the most talented and overall be WR cores in the entire league (Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas, Charlie Jones). 
• The TE room is back as well with Mike Gesicki getting an extension and Drew Sample and Erick All Jr still under their deals. If they can get All Jr healthy and on the field he could provide a unique skill set for them out of the TE room but I wouldn’t bet on his health at this point sadly. 
• The same really goes for the RB room. It’s a solid room between Chase Brown, Zack Moss, and now the additions of Samaje Perine and the rookie Tahj Brooks (Texas Tech) who gives them a nice young powerful back to rotate in. 

The OL room on the other hand has some changes with the release of Alex Cappa and letting Trent Brown walk to FA. I love the addition of Dylan Fairchild (Georgia) and Jalen Rivers (Miami) through the draft because it continues the trend of signing/drafting big powerful OL players to make this a more stout unit in front of Burrow and your solid collection of RBs. While I’m not saying this OL room is one the best in the league by any means they do have a solid starting group (Orlando Brown Jr, Dylan Fairchild, Ted Karras, Lucas Patrick, Amarius Mims) and they’ve started to add and keep some depth that they haven’t had much in the past with guys like Jalen Rivers, Cody Ford, and Cordell Volson. It’s not a perfect group and they certainly have some question marks with guys like Lucas Patrick but should be a more competent group than they’ve had in the past in front of Burrow.

Defense 

As far the defense goes for this Bengals roster it’s a lot of the same in the secondary as well. Aside from a couple UDFA additions this team stayed the same on the back end of their defense and while continuity certainly isn’t a bad thing in a secondary I’m not sure I would have gone about this grouping the same way. Don’t get me wrong I like a number of the guys in the CB and S rooms but to me they needed a difference maker in these units and while Cam Taylor-Britt, Dax Hill, DJ Turner II, Geno Stone, and Jordan Battle are all solid players I don’t look any of these guys and think they’ll have a significant jump in who they are as players. They’re all fine starters and are capable of being a solid unit but the loss of Jessie Bates III continues to haunt this secondary in my opinion. They also are thin in a number of spots and don’t have depth that I particularly get excited about other than possibly Josh Newton.

On the other hand this front four looks great on paper and seems like they could have a really exciting unit, especially compared to last season. The problem being is two of the most intriguing and most likely productive guys in the room for you, at least you’d hope, are unhappy with your team right now. Trey Hendrickson is still waiting on his pay day which is very much deserved and your 1st Round pick is unhappy with the language in his rookie contract and currently (June 22, 2025) not reporting to camp. While I wasn’t as high on Shemar Stewart (Texas A&M) as others I didn’t hate the pick by any means and the fact you’re now on bad terms with your two best pass rushers (Stewart theoretically) is unbelievable and shows how disconnected and poorly run this organization can be at times. I like a lot of the players you have here with BJ Hill, Joesph Ossai, Myles Murphy, Kris Jenkins Jr, and your new signing TJ Slayton Jr but this group without Shemar Stewart and especially Trey Hendrickson is just fine at best. Pay your best players and give them contracts that don’t threaten their jobs over one simple mistake and all the sudden you have a promising DL that if you get the best out of some guys could be a real plus for your team not only this year but moving forward entirely.

This LB room while solid isn’t anything to write home about in my opinion. While you took some high upside shots with really good athletes in the draft with your 2nd Round pick being Demetrius Knight Jr (South Carolina) and your 4th Round pick Barrett Carter (Clemson) I thought these guys were a bit over drafted and in my opinion won’t have the same impact that those picks could have had if you spent them elsewhere. I like the room but the asset management was off in my opinion and while I really like Logan Wilson he’s struggled with injuries throughout his career and they don’t have great depth to make up for the impact he would have in my opinion, even with the two additions of Knight Jr and Carter.

Overview 

• Overall this Bengals team once again feels like a different story on offense and defense. While the offense has a few question marks it’s mostly rock solid with star talent all over the place between Burrow, Chase, Higgins, and the rest of the supporting cast while the defense looks okay on paper but has real issues when you look deeper at the depth or lack thereof and the concerning situations between two of the players that should impact your defense and in turn your team overall the most not only this year but for years moving forward as well. This team feels like it’s headed in the wrong direction all due to the fact the ownership is cheap and unwilling to keep talent together because of it. While on paper this team looks better I can absolutely see a world where this season goes awry because of the dysfunction that surrounds them already. With the talent they have they should be fighting for this division and at least be a top contender for a wild card spot but the way it’s headed it seems to be going the wrong way and we could be headed towards a new regime because ownership doesn’t want to blame themselves and/or help fix these situations. In my opinion the reason guys like Jessie Bates III and Trey Hendrickson weren’t paid is because of the ownership group, the lack of success they’ve had in the draft is in large part due to the lack of money/personal that ownership allows the team to put towards it, and until they get out of their own way it’ll be incredibly hard to have consistent success. I understand it’s not all on ownership but they’re certainly not helping and to have sustainable success in this league you have to be tied together from top to bottom and that’s just not the case here. If I’m being honest I struggle with my thoughts about HC Zac Taylor and what he brings to this team. I like aspects of what Taylor does but more often than not I feel that this team should be achieving more and it’s left to Burrow and Chase to fix the problems Taylor puts in front of them. He’s far from a terrible coach but I don’t know that he’s a guy that maximizes a roster and ultimately I think I would lure in a higher quality of coach with the fact I have Joe Burrow here.