The 2020 season clearly did not go how head coach Zac Taylor and the rest of the Cincinnati Bengals had hoped it would go. The Bengals had the number one pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and selected Joe Burrow who by all means looked to be a hit until his knee injury. Not only did the number one overall pick get hurt but so did their two major defensive free agency signings in DJ Reader and Trae Wayne’s, both of which barely played if at all.
Joe Burrow was starting to come into his own in the Zac Taylor offense and unfortunately, in week 11 against the Washington Football Team, he suffered a torn ACL, MCL and damaged his PCL and Meniscus. Burrow would go on to end his rookie season with a 65 percent completion percentage, 2,688 passing yards, and 13 touchdowns to five interceptions. Burrow also would go on to add another 37 carries for 142 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
After Burrow suffered his season-ending injury the team pivoted to backup quarterbacks Ryan Finley who has since been traded to the Houston Texans and Brandon Allen who recently resigned this offseason to a one-year deal after showing he’s a capable backup in relief of Burrow.
Can Bengals, Zac Taylor turn it around in 2021?
The 2020 season was one filled with question marks about the culture that Zac Taylor was created in Cincinnati and many of the veterans were not on board with the movement. We saw Carlos Dunlap take to Twitter weekly to vent his frustrations with the ball club leaning towards a youth movement before ultimately burning the bridge with the Bengals and their fans and getting traded.
It’s clear that Zac Taylor is trying to make changes and when your leaders aren’t on board that is a recipe for disaster ten out of ten times. After finishing the season 4-11-1, Zac Taylor needs to keep Burrow healthy and show major improvements as a team for him to keep his job at this point.
What moves have the Bengals made this offseason?
The good news for Bengals fans however is that Burrow has been throwing since late February and has been doing well in his recovery and comeback. The major focus for the Bengals should be surrounding Burrow with as many high-level offensive linemen as possible and they have already begun that process by signing veteran tackle Riley Reiff from the Minnesota Vikings.
The Bengals have also released former right tackle Bobby Hart who was an up and down player while in Cincy and resigned guard Quintin Spain to a one-year deal. While there have been some minor improvements there is still tons of room for improvement on that offensive line.
Bengals fans will have to get used to a changing of the guard with veterans already on new teams or in free agency. The team has moved on from longtime captains and veterans in Carl Lawson, Geno Atkins, Giovanni Bernard, A.J. Green, William Jackson III, and of course Carlos Dunlap was traded last offseason to the Seattle Seahawks.
The Bengals have brought in a number of reinforcements though especially on the defensive side of the ball having resigned Jalen Davis, Brandon Wilson, Tony Brown, Mike Daniels, and Jordan Evan’s while adding new faces such as Trey Hendrickson, Larry Ogunjobi, Ricardo Allen, Mike Hilton, Eli Apple, and Chidobe Awuzie.
The 2021 offseason was one in which we saw the Bengals sit out on day one of free agency and let the bigger dominoes fall before making their moves. The Bengals are hoping that their free agency acquisitions can stay healthy and contribute now while also expecting two key signings from last season to come back and contribute in defensive tackle D.J. Reader and cornerback Trae Wayne’s.
Zac Taylor is officially on the hot seat after a 6-25-1 start through his first two seasons. Look for the Bengals to draft offensive heavy this 2021 NFL Draft after going defensive heavy in free agency. Offensive tackle, interior offensive line, wide receiver, and or tight end are all major offensive needs for the Bengals heading into the 2021 NFL Draft.
Team needs entering 2021 NFL Draft
It’s been long rumored that the Bengals will target left tackle Penei Sewell at pick five if available because of Burrow’s injury and the Bengals offensive line being rather porous but I can see a world in which they go another route entirely. The Bengals reportedly spoke with the San Francisco 49ers about trading down with them in round one before the 49ers ultimately decided to move up for the third overall pick. This tells me that the Bengals aren’t necessarily wowed enough at this stage of the process with any one prospect to the point where they wouldn’t even field calls for a possible trade down.
While I want the Bengals to potentially trade down for a haul, I am operating under the assumption that they stay put at pick five. Even with Jonah Williams going into year three in the NFL, year two of playing and signing Riley Reiff, they still very easily could go tackle at five and move one of Williams or Reiff to play guard.
If tackle isn’t the route the Cincinnati Bengals decided to go they very easily could pivot to wide receiver in round one or two. The Bengals have two solid wideouts on the roster in Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd but will look to replace AJ Green on the outside opposite of Higgins. The Bengals’ last two first round wide receivers they drafted were AJ Green and John Ross which had drastically different outcomes. Don’t be surprised if the Bengals draft two wide receivers in this 2021 NFL Draft.
Another major need for the Bengals to address this 2021 NFL Draft is interior offensive line. If tackle is an option in round one then that means there are three starting tackles on the roster, one of whom will have to move inside leaving one guard spot open. This draft has a decent amount of day two interior offensive lineman prospects that could come in and make a day one impact for the Bengals.
Bengals top targets in 2021 NFL Draft
At this stage of the pre-draft process and with no NFL combine to rely on, many players missing the 2020 season due to opting out and only having access to pro days teams are taking more risk this draft arguably more than ever when it comes to round one. Both prospects that the Bengals have been rumored to target at pick five overall are the left tackle out Oregon, Penei Sewell, and the wide receiver out of LSU in Ja’Marr Chase. Both options would be great for the Bengals but who knows which route they go come draft night.
Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon
Penei Sewell is considered a generational talent at the tackle position, he plays with great length, athleticism, aggression, and anticipation, and although he’s incredibly young and rather inexperienced the ceiling is possibly Joe Thomas high with Sewell.
Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network has high praise for Sewell as the 2021 NFL Draft approaches:
"“From the onset of his career, Sewell was projected as a potential early draft pick at the all-important left tackle position. He possesses the footwork, agility, and movement skills, to hold down the position at the next level, and he projects well in a zone-blocking scheme. He must improve his strength at the point and develop a nasty attitude, but Sewell comes with a large upside.”"
Adding Sewell to the Bengals offensive line would give life to the fan base and should give Joe Burrow some more confidence about his offensive lineman.
Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU
If the Bengals can’t get Sewell because he’s been selected or they decide to pass entirely, Ja’Marr Chase is likely the pick at fifth overall. Chase and Burrow broke NCAA and SEC single-season records while playing together at LSU. Chase opted out of the 2020 season since the LSU Tigers weren’t expected to be super competitive after most of the starters left after winning it all.
Chase isn’t the big body that A.J. Green was but he is scary fast and is a threat to score whenever he touches the ball. It also helps that he tested out of his mind at his pro day, racking up a Relative Athletic Score of 9.81 out of 10.
Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
The only other option I can fathom happening besides trading down if the Bengals pass on Sewell and Chase and that would be selecting the tight end out of The University of Florida in Kyle Pitts. Pitts is the highest regarded tight end prospect since O.J. Howard came out of Alabama and while he isn’t as good of a blocker as Howard he is a significantly better pass-catching threat.
Pitts is a mismatch nightmare for defenses as corners and safeties are too small to cover him and
Linebackers are too slow to run with him. Pitts can be a tight end or a big-bodied wide receiver for the Bengals and could fill two needs in one shot.