Cincinnati Bengals: George Iloka is the priority
The Cincinnati Bengals 12-4 season ended in disgrace against the Pittsburgh Steelers, as Marvin Lewis‘s team was once again one-and-done in the playoffs, thanks to an injury to Andy Dalton and boneheaded mistakes from Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones.
This offseason, Jones is scheduled to hit the free agent market, and so is eight-interception hero Reggie Nelson, wide receivers Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones, cornerback Leon Hall, and linebacker Vincent Rey. While all of those players are talented, the Cincinnati Bengals No. 1 priority this offseason should be to re-sign safety George Iloka, even if he wasn’t quite as effective in 2015 as he was in 2014.
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Iloka’s stat sheet this past season looks pretty underwhelming, because he recorded just 47 tackles with one interception and four passes defended. Whereas his safety partner Nelson was busy racking up the picks and plaudits, Iloka made few truly game-changing plays. However, Iloka has always been one of the best defensive backs in the NFL at avoiding allowing a huge play, and he played a big role on a defense that was sixth in the NFL in net yards per attempt allowed and second in passing touchdowns surrendered.
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There aren’t many safeties who can do as many things at a well above-average level than Iloka, who was named the Bengals “Secret Superstar” by Pro Football Focus before the regular season.
That piece helped Iloka’s star rise, and PFF’s Gordon McGuinness noted in the article that the young safety did an especially good job in improving in the facets of his game that were once glaring weaknesses. For example, Iloka was a missed tackle machine in the passing game in the 2013 season, but he would finish 2014 with a career-high 73 tackles and ten passes defended. Some, particularly Bengals fans, were willing to give him top ten safety consideration.
While I wouldn’t call Iloka one of the top ten safeties at the position just yet, he is indeed one of the better players at the position. As far as consistency goes, few are more reliable in coverage than Iloka, and he plays with such maturity that it’s hard to believe the former Boise State star will be just 26 when the 2016 regular season opens up.
Iloka has become a leader on a Bengals defense that currently has some character questions due to Jones’s and Burfict’s idiotic plays against Pittsburgh, and the Bengals are also hoping to groom new players to replace the “old guard”. Again, Jones, Hall, and Nelson are older, key players on the Bengals defense set to hit free agency, and if they aren’t willing to take cheaper, short-term details to remain, the Bengals will move on.
It’s much harder, however, to move on from Iloka without a fight, and while the chances of re-signing him seem low due to the fact that he would be highly coveted by a number of teams around the NFL, the Bengals must do what they can to re-sign him. Iloka is in the prime of his career, and he’s at an age where he can provide both stability and the hope of further improvement. Since he can defend the run and cover, Iloka will also interest teams looking for strong and free safety help.
Of the two impending free agent safeties on the Bengals roster, Iloka is the more important one to keep. Yes, Nelson is a very good player who won the statistical battle in 2015, but wouldn’t you rather have the younger and more well-rounded player?
He will come at a higher price, but the Bengals need to make sure they have a young nucleus of defensive players on their roster going forward; Iloka clearly should be a part of that core group.
Other safeties like Eric Berry, Eric Weddle, Tashaun Gipson, Walter Thurmond, Mark Barron, Rodney McLeod, Louis Delmas, and James Ihedigbo are big names who could hit the free agent market this offseason, so while that could hurt Iloka’s value, only Berry and Gipson are likely to command bigger contracts.
Since I don’t think Berry will be available and believe he will be signed quickly (a la Ndamukong Suh last offseason) if the Kansas City Chiefs don’t bring him back, Iloka is set to make a nice chunk of change.
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The Bengals might not be able to keep him, but his expected price tag is exactly why the Bengals need to prioritize his return.
If he’s expected to be that coveted around the league, then the Bengals should desire to re-sign him just as strongly. He’s one of their best players, his versatility makes him difficult to replace, he’s a leader, he’s dependable on a week-to-week basis, and his arrow is pointing upwards.