The next for the Cincinnati Bengals off-season is a series of mini-camps and OTA’s. During this time, the Bengals have several opportunities to install their offensive and defensive schemes with their veterans and rookies. In addition to installing schemes, the Cincinnati coaching staff must assess their strengths and weaknesses due to their schemes and availability. Suppose the Bengals intend to return to “championship contender” status. In that case, Cincinnati needs to get several areas of their team upgraded or settled before reporting to training camp in 2025.
Cincinnati’s Gap Scheme Run Game
The most significant need for improvement for the Cincinnati Bengals is their ability to run the ball effectively. Schematically, the Bengals use a variety of run plays, including inside zone, outside zone, power, counter, and pin and pull sweeps. In 2024, most of Bengal’s run game distribution focused heavily on inside and outside zone run plays. While most teams in the NFL lean on these plays offensively, the Bengals are not playing to their personnel while running these schemes. Cincinnati’s offensive line is one of the worst-rated units in the NFL regarding run blocking, and they cannot get a horizontal or vertical stretch when they run these plays. That leaves running back Chase Brown and Zack Moss running into a wall. An instant upgrade is to focus more on gap scheme plays, allowing the Bengal’s offensive lineman to use their athleticism and provide superior opportunities for play-action passes.
Pass Protection for Joe Burrow
Another glaring problem for the Bengals is their overall lack of success with pass protection. Many experts will point to the Bengal’s offensive tackles as the problem, which is true when talking about Cincinnati’s right tackle, Amarius Mims. A more significant problem lies at the guard position, where both guards struggle in pass protection, especially when facing line stunts. Part of the guard’s problem lies in Zak Taylor’s desire to use 5-man pass protections so that the Bengals can get their running backs out as a check-down receiver. Using a 6-man protection with half-slide action would help at least 1/2 of the offensive line when facing stunts and a running back to pick up hot blitzes if the Bengals use a check and release feature with their running back, so they could still get the back out as a receiver if a blitzing linebacker is not present.
Find a Legitimate #3 Receiving Threat
Since last season, many have focused on the Cincinnati Bengals contract disputes with wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. While Chase and Higgins have been extended and settled their contract disputes, the Bengals still have a lingering issue in their passing game. Most successful passing games in the NFL provide their quarterback with several check-down options in their passing concepts. Those options are either an effective tight end or a slot receiver who can catch the ball and pick up first downs using short and intermediate routes. That convenience does not exist for the Bengals due to inconsistent play and depth at the tight end and slot receiver position. A quick fix would be to use wide receiver Jermaine Burton as a slot receiver due to Burton’s excellent route-running ability and outstanding range when it comes to catching passes.
Settle the Trey Hendrickson Contract Dispute
Like the contract disputes with Chase and Higgins, Cincinnati is in yet another dispute. That situation centers on defensive end Trey Hendrickson’s desire to receive a fully guaranteed contract for at least the next four seasons. Hendrickson expects compensation for having back-to-back outstanding seasons featuring 17.5 sacks both seasons. While Hendrickson’s recent production is second only behind Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett, the problem lies in the fact that Hendrickson is a 30-year-old edge rusher. There is no easy solution: Hendrickson still has a year on his previous contract, and the Bengals offered an opportunity to increase Hendrickson’s pay to $28 million per season. A simple solution would be to trade Hendrickson and get some value for him, but while teams are interested in trading for Hendrickson, they will not offer him the contract he desires. Once again, this dispute has created a hostile atmosphere around the Bengals team.
Find an Effective Nickel Player
Another defensive position the Bengals need to get shored up before training camp starts is their Nickel Back position in their 4-2 Nickel defense. Mike Hilton spent the last few seasons as Cincinnati’s slot corner and was an outstanding run-support player. During free agency, the Bengals did not re-sign Hilton and expected to use Dax Hill to replace Hilton. The downside of Hill is that he is coming off a 2024 season in which he suffered a torn ACL in Week 5 against the Ravens. The risk of using Hill is that he is coming off an injury, and Jalen Davis and Micah Abraham would need to fill in for Hill. Both Davis and Abraham have major weaknesses with run support and pass coverage.
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