Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, like fans, sounds excited about his team’s newish offense going into 2024.
Newish because the Bengals have been rather coy about just how much will change. New coordinator Dan Pitcher was reserved in talking about this recently.
Burrow, though, stressed during mandatory minicamp that the wrinkles will force defenses to adapt.
“With the personnel we have this year, we’ll be able to do a lot more with personnel groupings. Putting different people in different spots,” Burrow said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “And doing a lot of different things as far as eye candy and making teams adjust their personnel based on ours.”
A year removed from struggling to get more under-center looks in the offense after Burrow’s summer injury, the Bengals now have a host of guys who can line up in the slot (Mike Gesicki, rookie Jermaine Burton, running backs, etc.) and a new-look running back room.
Besides the new faces, the greater versatility of the offense means names like Ja’Marr Chase can also move into the slot more and around formations to create mismatches based on the opponent.
Which is to say the Bengals, on paper, should be able to dictate games better rather than sitting on their heels and reacting to what defenses do. Provided everyone stays healthy, that should be beneficial right in Week 1 and throughout the season as they add layers.
