The Cincinnati Bengals draft has wrapped up, and with that, they were able to address most of their major needs as the season approaches.
However, they can’t possibly address every spot, so there are a few positions the Bengals could improve on in free agency. Knowing the Bengals, it is unlikely they are looking outside for additions much at the moment, but these are additions that would almost certainly make the team better in 2024.
CB Steven Nelson
While there are other cornerbacks who may have been better over their career like Stephon Gilmore or Xavien Howard, Nelson is the perfect balance of talent and cost for the Bengals. He is older but has been good for quite a while and should give a better floor to the Bengals’ cornerback room. The Bengals have a lot of youth in the cornerback room, and while it is nice in theory to believe in the young players, adding someone with more experience would make a lot of sense.
OG Dalton Risner
The Bengals have never been in on Risner despite him being a free agent through multiple offseason. This seems to indicate that the Bengals won’t be interested in him at all. However, the Bengals should absolutely consider it, especially after all the other additions to the offensive line room. The Bengals’ offensive line should be the best that it has been in the Burrow era, but it can continue to get even better. With Risner, the Bengals could replace Volson, who has been up and down. That would relegate him to backing up the G spots in case of injury, improving both the starting backup OL.
RB Cam Akers
The Bengals have a new-look running back room, going from the one-back system of Joe Mixon to a hopeful two-headed monster of Zack Moss and Chase Brown. However, the depth behind the two players is fairly lacking, with Trayveon Williams not doing much so far in his career, and the lack of work shows the Bengals don’t trust Chris Evans much. With that thought, it would’ve made some sense for the Bengals to supplement their running back depth through the draft, but it seems to have never made sense for them.
Akers, who is still relatively young, would make sense as a signing to be the 3rd/4th back on the depth chart.
Is there anyone else you would like the Bengals to add?
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.