The Cincinnati Bengals slot second in ESPN’s post-draft power rankings.
It’s something of a surprise to see the Bengals ranked over a Super Bowl team like the Philadelphia Eagles, but not an overly stunning one.
Those Bengals, to the surprise of some, didn’t use one of their eight draft picks on the offensive line, which is part of the reason ESPN’s Ben Baby outlined free agency as one of the reasons for that second-place slotting:
Cincinnati made a massive splash in free agency by signing Orlando Brown Jr. as its new left tackle. Last season with Kansas City, Brown was 18th in pass block win rate as a tackle, according to ESPN Analytics. When Jonah Williams was healthy in 2021, he was 50th among 68 qualifying players — his best finish in three seasons. If Williams slides over to right tackle as the Bengals hope, he could be an upgrade over La’el Collins, who has had availability and durability issues in his career. And improved pass-blocking means more time for QB Joe Burrow in the pocket.
Not only could Williams solve the problem at right tackle, the staff still has Cody Ford and Jackson Carman as potential solutions.
The hard-earned stability of the offensive line, in which the team bought big-ticket names for three positions, meant addressing the defense with the team’s first three draft picks, then shocking some by upgrading the depth of the wideout room twice.
And the result is a second-place finish in current power rankings, something the team looks more than capable of defending as soon as Week 1.
