The Cincinnati Bengals need to stop skimping on the tight end position.
That much is obvious when taking just one look at how much the position has helped other teams in the playoffs so far.
In the Wild Card Round, David Njoku had seven catches for 93 yards, Travis Kelce seven for 71, Dalton Kincaid three for 59 and a score and Dalton Kincaid eight for 89. In the divisional as of right now, George Kittle had four for 81 and a score.
All of those names led their team in receiving — in playoff victories.
A tight end isn’t going to come in and necessarily outpace Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins (franchise tag incoming, at a minimum) next season. But it’s pretty clear — sort of like linebackers — just how important the position is come playoff time.
By comparison, Cincinnati’s patchwork idea isn’t working. The success of C.J. Uzomah seemed to encourage the idea, leading to one year of Hayden Hurst and another attempt on Irv Smith Jr. to disastrous results.
Fans rightfully fell in love with Tanner Hudson’s story and contributions this year, but it’s easy to overlook the fact he’ll already be 30 years old next season.
A big investment in tight end means prioritizing it in Round 1 as a possibility or going after some of the biggest upcoming free agents like Dalton Schultz.
Counterarguments will include the need to spend money elsewhere and/or fix other holes, Joe Burrow himself might not want to prioritize the position in the offense enough to justify it, etc.
But the reality is we just saw a different type of offense under the guidance of Jake Browning that had unexpected successes. Those elements probably would’ve been installed in Burrow’s offense over the summer had he not suffered the calf injury.
Add a dynamic, high-upside tight end to that mix and the offense becomes less reliant on wide receivers only, especially as the team figures to lose Tyler Boyd as a safety blanket. It could also mean becoming less reliant on Burrow making scramble plays and taking hits a year removed from another season-ending injury.
While the idea might not be attractive to all, shifting resources to a position that continues to boom across the league would only help Burrow while possibly keeping the championship window open wide.
