Written By: Jake Leicht
Shockingly, the Cincinnati Bengals were the worst team in the AFC North last season. The Bengals struggled in all facets of the game, including the coaching department. Offensively, A.J. Green’s injury set the Bengals back in a big way. Joe Mixon stepped up and appears to be the team’s best offensive weapon heading into the 2019 offseason. Andy Dalton looked like a guy that should not be a starting quarterback, so the Bengals could look to move on from him. In terms of their defense, they look slow. The Bengals have a lack of playmakers at every level of their defense. The fact that they finally fired Marvin Lewis and hired Zac Taylor points to the fact that the Bengals are going to be looking to boost their offensive depth chart during the offseason.
Available Salary Cap Space- $50.4 Million
Free Agents
UFA
Tyler Eifert- Tight End
Michael Johnson- Defensive End
Preston Brown- Linebacker
Vincent Rey- Outside Linebacker
Cedric Ogbuehi- Offensive Tackle
Darqueze Dennard- Cornerback
Bobby Hart- Offensive Tackle
Andre Smith- Offensive Tackle
Kasim Edebali- Outside Linebacker
Tom Savage- Quarterback
Tyler Kroft- Tight End
C.J. Uzomah- Tight End
RFA
Jake Fisher- Offensive Tackle
Matt Lengel- Tight End
Trey Hopkins- Offensive Guard
ERFA
Adolphus Washington- Defensive Tackle
Josh Tupou- Defensive Tackle
Tony McRae- Cornerback
Alex Redmond- Offensive Guard
Brandon Wilson- Running Back
Potential Cap Casualties (Bold = Dead Money, Italics = Cap Gain)
Andy Dalton- Quarterback ($0) ($16.2 mill)
Dre Kirkpatrick- Cornerback ($4.2 mill) ($6.75 mill)
Vontaze Burfict- Linebacker ($1.8 mill) ($5.59 mill)
Gio Bernard- Running Back ($750,000) ($3.75 mill)
*All figures for cap purposes are taken as pre-June 1st, unless otherwise stated. All cap figures courtesy of Overthecap.com, unless otherwise stated*
Team Needs
5-7 Needs
Quarterback
Offensive Tackle
Linebacker
Tight End
Offensive Guard
Defensive Linemen
Draft pick Allotment
1st Round #11 (11)
2nd Round #10 (42)
3rd Round #9 (73)
4th Round #8 (104)
5th Round #11 (139)
6th Round #10 (170)
6th Round #26 (186)
6th Round (Compensatory- Player Name)
6th Round (Compensatory- Player Name)
6th Round (Compensatory- Player Name)
7th Round #9 (201)
*Compensatory Pick Projection courtesy of Nick Korte of Overthecap.com
Mock Offseason
Head Coach
Zac Taylor
Players Re-signed
Preston Brown- Linebacker
Vincent Rey- Outside Linebacker
Cedric Ogbuehi- Offensive Tackle
Darqueze Dennard- Cornerback
Bobby Hart- Offensive Tackle
Tom Savage- Quarterback
Tyler Kroft- Tight End
Cap Casualties
Dre Kirkpatrick- Cornerback ($4.2 mill) ($6.75 mill)
Vontaze Burfict- Linebacker ($1.8 mill) ($5.59 mill)
Gio Bernard- Running Back ($750,000) ($3.75 mill)
Trade
Bengals get: 4th Round Pick
Redskins get: Andy Dalton
Bengals get: 1st Round Pick
Colts Get: A.J. Green, 2 6th Round Picks
Bengals get: 1st Round Pick (7th Overall)
Jacksonville gets: 1st Round Pick (11th Overall), 4th Rounder, 2020 3rd Rounder
Free Agent Targets
C.J. Mosley- Linebacker (Ravens)
It is no secret that the Bengals desperately need help at linebacker. Mosley is the perfect fit for them, and the Ravens would get weaker in the process.
Kareem Jackson- Cornerback (Texans)
Jackson is an interesting free agent because he is so up-and-down in his play. The Bengals need secondary help, and they have money to spend.
LaMarcus Joyner- Safety (Rams)
If the Bengals had another safety that was a ballhawk, their defense would be much better. Zac Taylor just came from the Rams, so maybe he could entice LaMarcus Joyner to follow him to Cincinnati.
Mock Draft
1st Round (7th): Kyler Murray, Quarterback (Oklahoma)
1th Round (26th): Jawaan Taylor, Offensive Tackle (Florida)
2nd Round: A.J. Brown, Wide Receiver (Mississippi)
3rd Round: Kendall Sheffield, Cornerback (Ohio State)
4th Round: Gary Johnson, Linebacker (Texas)
5th Round: Jalen Jelks, Edge Rusher (Oregon)
6th Round (Compensatory) Kendall Joseph, Linebacker (Clemson)
6th Round (Compensatory) Blace Brown, Cornerback (Troy)
6th Round (Compensatory) Will Harris, Safety (Boston College)
7th Round: Bryce Love, Running Back (Stanford)
Keep a lookout for more offseason blueprints as we get closer to the start of the new league year!