Cincinnati Bengals Preseason: 3 Takeaways vs Buccaneers

3 of 4

CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 11: Tra Carson #33 of the Cincinnati Bengals runs for a 16-yard gain against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third quarter of a preseason game at Paul Brown Stadium on August 11, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

2. Intriguing Running Back Depth

Early in the offseason, the running back position was looking somewhat bleak. Despite improving his fumbling issues, Jeremy Hill had an overall lackluster year. Giovani Bernard saw his season end early due to a torn ACL and still isn’t quite ready for game snaps. Useful utility back Rex Burkhead was allowed to leave and he subsequently joined the Patriots.

Based on what we’ve seen in this preseason debut however, the depth of talent at running back already appears much better than might have been expected.

This begins, of course, with the highly-touted talents of Joe Mixon. He was utilized in a variety of ways against the Bucs, and it appears he can excel in all of them. In six rushing attempts, he managed to gain five-plus yards on four of them. He turned his only targeted pass into an 11-yard gain and a first down. He was moved to different spots in the formation, at times even lining up like a wide receiver. He was able to pick up key blocks in pass protection, too.

More from Cincinnati Bengals

With the way snaps were handed out, it seems Mixon is already either angling for Hill’s incumbent starting spot or to pair with him. At this point, it shouldn’t be a shock to see the former happen eventually.

Hill actually showed up relatively well, but for every area he made a positive impact, Mixon’s was just a tad better. Mixon garnered 5+ yards on four of his six carries; Hill did so on three of his seven. Each was targeted for a single pass; Mixon caught his, but Hill couldn’t do so (a clear deficiency in his game so far in his career).

Hill was the de facto starter he though, and as such did see a bigger portion of his attempts come against first-string defenders; that shouldn’t be discounted with the small sample size in place. With the way this Cincinnati regime tends to take things slow with young players, it’d be a surprise if Mixon can overtake Hill (and, assuming he’s healthy, Bernard) to begin the season. As the year progresses though, if he doesn’t begin to pick up a quality role it’ll likely be right to question the thinking of the coaching staff.

The intrigue at this spot doesn’t end with Mixon, however.

Past the Mixon/Hill/Bernard trio vying for the main roles, there likely won’t be many snaps to hand out in the coming season. There could be another roster spot to divvy out however, and if there is this game points to Tra Carson having the early edge for attaining it.

During the Zero-Snap Spotlight series, I didn’t have much confidence in Carson’s chances, but preseason action can make a major difference for these back-end roster players making the final 53. He may not be putting himself in position to take Hill’s role or anything of that magnitude, but putting up a performance like he did against the Bucs makes him an attractive option for depth — one who could one day be a cheaper alternative to those above him if he can stick around long enough.

Though finding a spot in the top three running backs on this team may not be in his future, outperforming the rest of the competition could force the team into keeping four running backs in 2017, and this game was a nice opening act for those hopes.

Only Driskel (due to multiple long scrambles) picked up more ground yardage than Carson’s 32 rushing yards among runners on either team. He matched Mixon’s total of four five-yard-plus rushes in the contest, most of which were essential to Cincinnati’s only two touchdown drives in the game.

He clearly outshined his younger competition (Jarveon Williams and Stanley Williams combined for just 14 yards on 7 carries), and though he isn’t an established special team ace like Cedric Peerman he may be able to continue showing enough on offense alone to make himself the next up in the pecking order.

Things can change fast, and keeping four running backs is no guarantee (especially with all the young wide receiver and defensive line talents recently added), but Carson is making an early case to stick around past roster cuts.

Home/Cincinnati Bengals