Cincinnati Bengals make moves like contenders, but are they?

Moves like trading back in the draft for veteran players are usually what contending teams do in the NFL. The Cincinnati Bengals are making such moves, but is this team as good as it thinks?

No matter how poor or successful a team’s season was, there are always major offseason questions on the front burner. The NFL turns over too much for even the best teams to advance a calendar year unscathed. Let’s continue the team-by-team overview with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincinnati is no longer selecting 12th in the first round of the NFL draft after trading down to acquire Buffalo left tackle Cordy Glenn. Glenn fills a major need but felt like a move more suited for a team right on the precipice of contention. Its highly debatable whether the Bengals are in that position. Glenn is just a piece needed for an offensive line retool. Cincinnati also has holes on defense.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the Cincinnati Bengals in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

All told, would the Bengals have been better off acquiring more picks for the 12th selection as opposed to one veteran? Andy Dalton probably doesn’t think so, but the roster would be better for it, almost regardless of how well Glenn performs on Dalton’s blind side. And maybe this move is a self-shot at the team’s own ability to draft, as ESPN’s Bill Barnwell pointed out at the time of the trade.

"“In making this move, though, the Bengals are essentially saying they don’t trust their ability to develop a left tackle, given that they could easily have drafted a tackle at 12 themselves. After last year, it would be difficult to disagree with them.”"

Besides more line help, Cincinnati is in desperate need of John Ross to actually take the field and be good. The offense is a few weapons short at this point. Counting on Ross and the newly renewed Tyler Eifert feels like a mistake. Eifert has played in just 10 total games the past two seasons and hasn’t played 15 games in a season since his rookie year.

If one believes in Dalton and expects healthy years from Ross and Eifert and Glenn, and improvements from Ross and Joe Mixon, this team might have a solid offense. That is a big if, and it doesn’t even address the fact that a below-average defense has holes along the interior, at linebacker, and depth needs in the secondary.

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Acquiring Glenn was just one move out of numerous offseason goings-on, but it seemed to speak to a disconnect between this team’s immediate future and the usefulness of Glenn. He is a very solid player at a very important position, but it’s almost like adding the Sixth Man of the Year or Defensive Player of the Year to a basketball team that has no go-to scorers. It will help, but help accomplish what exactly?

Dan Salem:

There’s one key ingredient you’ve missed in evaluating the Bengals’ addition of Glenn. Cincinnati loves offensive tackles! They especially love left tackles and rumors are flying that include them drafting another, despite just adding Glenn. Outside of the obvious skill positions, left tackle is often considered the most coveted and valuable position on offense. Building the offensive line makes a ton of sense, especially when you love your quarterback. Its painfully obvious that Cincinnati loves its Red Rifle, but they need to get him more help.

The Bengals are in an enviable position with 11 draft picks and four in the first three rounds. They have an excellent quarterback in a division that appears to be cracking open. Pittsburgh and Baltimore are vulnerable. The Browns are making a contender of themselves, but none of Cincinnati’s competition is complete on both sides of the football. Unfortunately, as you noted, the Bengals are not known for their great drafting, so improving that way may be a long shot before the 2018 season gets underway.

The offense in Cincinnati was not initially a concern for me. Every team needs to stay healthy in order to succeed and with Dalton the Bengals have stability and a proven winning commodity. Playoff record aside, he has won a ton of games for this football team. Dalton led the Bengals to five straight winning seasons, before coming up short in the last two. You’d think that has an awful lot to do with defense, or lack thereof, but you’d be wrong.

The team was eighth and 16th in points allowed in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Compare that to 24th and 26th in points scored on offense over those same two seasons and we’re circling back around to why this team added Glenn in the first place. As an added bonus, the Bengals were dead last in total yards on offense last season.

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Full 7-Round projection

I’d like to see Cincinnati add a receiver to complement AJ Green, as well as competition at tight end and running back. One more weapon will elevate this offense. This is not to say the Bengals should ignore their defense, but with 11 draft picks they don’t have to. Those two 3rd round picks loom large in my mind. They need to draft starters, not project players. Its time this team advanced past the wildcard round of the playoffs.