- Joined
- Aug 10, 2013
- Messages
- 18,703
- Reaction score
- 18,149
OT - Cincinnati Bengals 2025 breakdown
Continuing my series on potential WC teams, now lets talk about what is in store for the Bengals in 2025. They finished 6th in PPG on offense and 25th on PPG on defense.
Notable players on offense.
This shouldn’t take long, you know them all mostly.
Burrow. Chase. Higgins.
While I like Higgins and recently a lot of stats have been out trying to make him look better than his production says, I can’t help but think if he was a true 1B he would be doing better with an alpha like chase taking so much attention away from him. Still good though. Gesiski is a solid TE and decent #3 option. Their next best weapon was 2nd year WR Losivas who considering his age (25 last year) probably isn’t improving much more. Their OL is usually pretty good but was pretty meh last year. They missed Orlando Brown for 6 games. He’s usually an iron man and their best OL at the most important spot of LT. Karras is an okay center. Cappa had a not so great year at guard, but is typically better than that. Volson is a low level starter who I think is better than his PFF from last year and Mims did poorly but not a dumpster fire at the other tackle spot when Trent Brown went down. Surprise surprise. For RB Chase Brown and Zack Moss are an okay combo.
Notable players on defense.
Starting with the DL we have the best player on D Hendrickson. Nothing needs to be said there. A rotation of Hubbard and Ossai on the outside is solid. BJ Hill is the overlooked player on D holding down the middle and getting pressure while doing it. Next to him is a rotation of Jenkins who isn’t good then worse guys behind him. Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson are their 2 main LBs. Wilson being mostly a run stopper (good at it too) and Pratt plays kind of a similar game but slightly worse at this point, though it he did better in past years. Wilson missed more games than usual last year at 6. At CB Taylor-Britt is there number 1 guy, but he is only pretty decent. DJ Turner was their 2nd year CB that year and probably as good as Britt , Hilton was probably their best CB at the nickel spot. Josh Newton as a rookie was a good backup. Dax Hill is another guy of note. Played some safety, nickel and also outside CB. A high pick for them and has been good and bad at times. At safety Jordan Battle, Geno Stone and Vonn Bell made for a group with much to be desired... not complete trash but no one there should be starting or just barely starting level.
Now lets talk free agency!
They actually have some cap room. Before counting the draft signings they have 26M free this year and 55M next year. So they could add a bit more if they wanted. They have some ability to move around a little money but not much. They have some guys they MAYBE could cut but it might just make things worse. So there is some wiggle room, but not a ton.
FA losses:
Hubbard DE. Cappa G, Hilton CB, Davis-Gaither LB, Rankings DL, Trent Brown OT. A nickel CB who was pretty good. A starting G who was okay, A starting DE who was probably below average at this point and some decent back ups. Trent Brown if he played could hopefully give you 8-10 quality starts.
FA Gains:
Slayton DT, and then pretty much back ups who may make the roster... maybe not.
Overall it’s pretty clear they lost more in FA than they gained. But nothing too bad though unless they also lose Hendrickson.
Now for the draft.
Mims OT and Jenkins DL where there top 2 picks last year and both played some decent size roles. Mims will step up to be the new starting tackle. IDK if he is ready. Jenkins maybe gets a bigger role and has a good 2 year jump. He showed a few flashes but we will see if it translates.
This year their top pick Stewart DE may need to try to fill the shoes of Hendrickson (who now when i look closer at their situation, IDK why they don’t just sign him. Knight at LB will try to push both their returning starters for minutes... if he beats out one it wouldn’t surprise me, he has a good chance to do so. Fairchild G has a chance to start with 2 subpar Guards imo. But a lot of people feel that was a bit of a reach pick at 81 and i also believe it was a questionable pick. Carter their 4th round LB is another reach pick a lot think. Most were not impressed with their draft. They tried to help their D and OL clearly... but it seems questionable how much it will help.
So where do I see them this year?
Not much better than last year and likely worse. First I ask myself where they can get better. Maybe Brown at LT stays healthy all year as well as Higgins playing more. But they didn't suffer too bad from many serious injuries last year. There are other things to consider as well.. How does Dax Hill fill in as full time nickel CB? If they keep Hendrickson maybe their front 4 with Steward if he pops off and the upgrade with Slaton could make for a pretty scary front. But that is really their only way to try to win defensively and they’d need to win fast.
Burrow and Chase had career years last year. And that led to the 6th best offense and the best of the Burrow era. Now your OL is worse most likely and nothing else has improved. Yes they may get a full season from Brown but they actually did better when he was out last year. Not saying that him being out was the reason they did better, but it probably means there may not be as much to gain from that as they hope. And yes, Higgins could play a few more games, but he usually misses some... so instead of 12 it’s 14? Not a huge swing. And i can’t help but come back to the fact that Chase and Burrow likely can’t continue to both play at such a high level back to back years. This offense could see regression even IF they stay healthier than last year.
As for if the D improves... maybe just a hair, but not much and if Hendrickson leaves it turns into a dumpster fire.
On the whole we all saw what this team was last year... they tried to address things through the draft... and if all those top picks hit maybe we will see the needle start to move for them, but i don’t feel confident in their class, outside of Stewart they didn’t really line up need with talent. But who can say for sure at this point? This team went 9-8 last year and probably reached the top of their potential all things considered. This year they have a slightly easier schedule, but not by much.
While I don’t think they got better the same is true the other way around, they didn’t get much worse. If they got worse at all. This team feels like a 9-8 team with the ability to swing 1 game either way. So they could go from 8-9 and missing the WC to 10-7 and 95% in. And a lot of that will come down to the games vs the Patriots and Broncos. They will be there in the end, but I see them likely on the outside looking in at this point. They are a threat but from looking at things closely while their DL if they have Hendrickson could pose some problems, from the looks of things we are a bad match up for them. We are built to limit teams that are top heavy in skill players and to pass rush and take advantage of questionable Olines. While I don’t know how good our offense will be, this should be a D we can score on somewhat. If it comes down to beating them to take a spot, I like the Pats odds.
I'll Probably Do the Broncos, Chargers and maybe 1 more in this series.
Continuing my series on potential WC teams, now lets talk about what is in store for the Bengals in 2025. They finished 6th in PPG on offense and 25th on PPG on defense.
Notable players on offense.
This shouldn’t take long, you know them all mostly.
Burrow. Chase. Higgins.
While I like Higgins and recently a lot of stats have been out trying to make him look better than his production says, I can’t help but think if he was a true 1B he would be doing better with an alpha like chase taking so much attention away from him. Still good though. Gesiski is a solid TE and decent #3 option. Their next best weapon was 2nd year WR Losivas who considering his age (25 last year) probably isn’t improving much more. Their OL is usually pretty good but was pretty meh last year. They missed Orlando Brown for 6 games. He’s usually an iron man and their best OL at the most important spot of LT. Karras is an okay center. Cappa had a not so great year at guard, but is typically better than that. Volson is a low level starter who I think is better than his PFF from last year and Mims did poorly but not a dumpster fire at the other tackle spot when Trent Brown went down. Surprise surprise. For RB Chase Brown and Zack Moss are an okay combo.
Notable players on defense.
Starting with the DL we have the best player on D Hendrickson. Nothing needs to be said there. A rotation of Hubbard and Ossai on the outside is solid. BJ Hill is the overlooked player on D holding down the middle and getting pressure while doing it. Next to him is a rotation of Jenkins who isn’t good then worse guys behind him. Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson are their 2 main LBs. Wilson being mostly a run stopper (good at it too) and Pratt plays kind of a similar game but slightly worse at this point, though it he did better in past years. Wilson missed more games than usual last year at 6. At CB Taylor-Britt is there number 1 guy, but he is only pretty decent. DJ Turner was their 2nd year CB that year and probably as good as Britt , Hilton was probably their best CB at the nickel spot. Josh Newton as a rookie was a good backup. Dax Hill is another guy of note. Played some safety, nickel and also outside CB. A high pick for them and has been good and bad at times. At safety Jordan Battle, Geno Stone and Vonn Bell made for a group with much to be desired... not complete trash but no one there should be starting or just barely starting level.
Now lets talk free agency!
They actually have some cap room. Before counting the draft signings they have 26M free this year and 55M next year. So they could add a bit more if they wanted. They have some ability to move around a little money but not much. They have some guys they MAYBE could cut but it might just make things worse. So there is some wiggle room, but not a ton.
FA losses:
Hubbard DE. Cappa G, Hilton CB, Davis-Gaither LB, Rankings DL, Trent Brown OT. A nickel CB who was pretty good. A starting G who was okay, A starting DE who was probably below average at this point and some decent back ups. Trent Brown if he played could hopefully give you 8-10 quality starts.
FA Gains:
Slayton DT, and then pretty much back ups who may make the roster... maybe not.
Overall it’s pretty clear they lost more in FA than they gained. But nothing too bad though unless they also lose Hendrickson.
Now for the draft.
Mims OT and Jenkins DL where there top 2 picks last year and both played some decent size roles. Mims will step up to be the new starting tackle. IDK if he is ready. Jenkins maybe gets a bigger role and has a good 2 year jump. He showed a few flashes but we will see if it translates.
This year their top pick Stewart DE may need to try to fill the shoes of Hendrickson (who now when i look closer at their situation, IDK why they don’t just sign him. Knight at LB will try to push both their returning starters for minutes... if he beats out one it wouldn’t surprise me, he has a good chance to do so. Fairchild G has a chance to start with 2 subpar Guards imo. But a lot of people feel that was a bit of a reach pick at 81 and i also believe it was a questionable pick. Carter their 4th round LB is another reach pick a lot think. Most were not impressed with their draft. They tried to help their D and OL clearly... but it seems questionable how much it will help.
So where do I see them this year?
Not much better than last year and likely worse. First I ask myself where they can get better. Maybe Brown at LT stays healthy all year as well as Higgins playing more. But they didn't suffer too bad from many serious injuries last year. There are other things to consider as well.. How does Dax Hill fill in as full time nickel CB? If they keep Hendrickson maybe their front 4 with Steward if he pops off and the upgrade with Slaton could make for a pretty scary front. But that is really their only way to try to win defensively and they’d need to win fast.
Burrow and Chase had career years last year. And that led to the 6th best offense and the best of the Burrow era. Now your OL is worse most likely and nothing else has improved. Yes they may get a full season from Brown but they actually did better when he was out last year. Not saying that him being out was the reason they did better, but it probably means there may not be as much to gain from that as they hope. And yes, Higgins could play a few more games, but he usually misses some... so instead of 12 it’s 14? Not a huge swing. And i can’t help but come back to the fact that Chase and Burrow likely can’t continue to both play at such a high level back to back years. This offense could see regression even IF they stay healthier than last year.
As for if the D improves... maybe just a hair, but not much and if Hendrickson leaves it turns into a dumpster fire.
On the whole we all saw what this team was last year... they tried to address things through the draft... and if all those top picks hit maybe we will see the needle start to move for them, but i don’t feel confident in their class, outside of Stewart they didn’t really line up need with talent. But who can say for sure at this point? This team went 9-8 last year and probably reached the top of their potential all things considered. This year they have a slightly easier schedule, but not by much.
While I don’t think they got better the same is true the other way around, they didn’t get much worse. If they got worse at all. This team feels like a 9-8 team with the ability to swing 1 game either way. So they could go from 8-9 and missing the WC to 10-7 and 95% in. And a lot of that will come down to the games vs the Patriots and Broncos. They will be there in the end, but I see them likely on the outside looking in at this point. They are a threat but from looking at things closely while their DL if they have Hendrickson could pose some problems, from the looks of things we are a bad match up for them. We are built to limit teams that are top heavy in skill players and to pass rush and take advantage of questionable Olines. While I don’t know how good our offense will be, this should be a D we can score on somewhat. If it comes down to beating them to take a spot, I like the Pats odds.
I'll Probably Do the Broncos, Chargers and maybe 1 more in this series.
Last edited:
