It wasn’t just fans thrilled with how the Cincinnati Bengals managed to rebuild the offensive line in front of Joe Burrow in free agency.
Those Bengals stuck to their guns, looking for guys who fit their culture, scheme, age and price range and came away with Ted Karras and Alex Cappa for the interior of the unit, plus La’el Collins at offensive tackle.
That trio of upgrades was enough for Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar to name the rebuild one of the best bargains of free agency so far and highlighted Collins:
“Collins is a different cat. Last season, he gave up two sacks and 20 total pressures on 509 pass-blocking reps, and he’s become a top-level run-blocker. Collins can be beaten to either side and when speed-rushers cross his face, but if you think you’re going to come straight at him with a bull-rush, expect to be disappointed.”
In the end, the Bengals avoided paying one big name like a Terron Armstead or Brandon Scherff and instead spread the money out for what looks like three upgrades, bridging the gap by generating saved cap by cutting Trae Waynes and Trey Hopkins.
This has been Cincinnati’s M.O. in free agency for a long time (hence them being spotlighted in the intro to Farrar’s piece), but they’ve ticked it up a proverbial notch lately and, courtesy of hitting perfectly with scheme fits, surged to a Super Bowl appearance.
If the trio of signings works out as well as the majority from the prior two offseasons, they could be well on their way to contending again.
