The Cincinnati Bengals could learn many things from the Kansas City Chiefs as they hope one offseason of change is enough to get right back to the playoffs and to contend.
But one lesson from the Chiefs reigns far above anything else — get production from rookies right away.
The Chiefs have consistently picked near the end of the draft order annually, yet keep plugging and playing high-end starters. Since the 2022 draft, Trent McDuffie has blossomed into a lockdown corner and George Karlaftis an elite pass-rusher. Xavier Worthy caught six touchdowns this year as a rookie, and other high-end picks have seen a steady uptick in playing time.
Contrast that to the Bengals. They took Dax Hill in 2022 and sat him, then played him out of position. Myles Murphy, the first-rounder in 2023, played less than 30 percent of the snaps. Injuries played a part in keeping Amarius Mims off the field this year at times, at least, while Kris Jenkins Jr. played 49 percent.
The problem is a little more complex than “just play rookies,” yes. They need to identify good players and develop them well. But there’s a feeling of luxury attached to these names that the team displayed — as if they handwaved needing to get high picks playing experience before actually putting them out there.
Getting this right would mean smarter veteran contract decisions. Now? They kept bloated, aging contracts around and don’t know whether they should do things like Dax Hill’s fifth-year option and whether cornerback is as big of a need as it seems.
Some of this might explain the departure of defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, too. But it shouldn’t have been permitted to get to this point, not when onlookers could have wondered in real-time if Dax Hill was playing in the right spot and whether Sam Hubbard really had enough left to be keeping Myles Murphy off the field.
Perhaps the Bengals took this lesson to heart already with Mims, who had Trent Brown beat for the starting right tackle job going into the season before an injury.
Going into this year’s draft, though, the objective is simple — find good players and those guys selected in the first two rounds need to be ready to help right away, no excuses.
