Fantasy football 2019: Impact of Cincinnati Bengals coaching changes

The Cincinnati Bengals aim to end an era of futility by hiring head coach Zac Taylor, a Sean McVay protege. What are the fantasy football impacts?

Fantasy football owners surely need to scout the players they may draft to their rosters. However, the most educated owners also follow the coaching changes throughout the NFL. And with approximately half of the league’s teams changing offensive coordinators, there’s plenty to keep up with.

As such, we’ve started touring the league by way of these changes, looking at the most impactful changes as it pertains to fantasy football. Here’s where we’ve been previously:

15. Cleveland Browns, 14. Washington Redskins, 13. Baltimore Ravens, 12. Denver Broncos, 11. Tennessee Titans, 10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 9. Miami Dolphins

In our newest installment, we journey into The Jungle to see if the arrival of Zac Taylor and Brian Callahan can help the Cincinnati Bengals change their stripes. Which Bengals will offer fantasy football value as a result of these coaching changes?

8. Cincinnati Bengals

New Head Coach: Zac Taylor – New Offensive Coordinator: Brian Callahan

Several weeks ago, I was eyeing up the Bengals offense as a sneaky source for undervalued and under-the-radar fantasy sleepers. A.J. Green’s recent foot injury put a serious damper on my  prognostications for this offense.

As things stand, the Bengals will be without their star wide receiver for several weeks as he recovers from surgery to repair torn tendons. Not only was the injury a blow to a receiving corps that was quietly emerging as one of the league’s finer units, it came on the heels of losing first-rounder Jonah Williams — the consensus best offensive lineman in this year’s draft — for the entire season.

The good news for “Who Dey” Nation is that Green is due back after missing a few weeks. What remains to be seen is how well Green can perform on his surgically-repaired ankle in a couple of months from now.

Adversity makes us stronger, and with that in mind, the Bengals continue to prepare as best they can. New head coach Zac Taylor, a former Sean McVay understudy, has focused on the little things, a trademark of many great coaches.

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As reported by Geoff Hobson on Bengals.com, Taylor even went so far as to hire a game management specialist to focus on late-game scenarios to make a difference in close games. Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, a former quarterbacks coach with three different NFL teams, is helping Taylor usher in a fresh approach to head the Bengals in the right direction.

Taylor’s staff utilization methods and strategies are viewed as a refreshing change by hordes of Bengals fans who clamored for years for a replacement for Marvin Lewis. The former head coach reigned the sidelines of the Queen City for a decade and a half despite going 0-7 in playoff games.

The Los Angeles Rams, where Taylor served as quarterbacks coach last year under Mcvay, ran a lot of 11 personnel and made prolific use of their wide receiver corps, as detailed in this must-read article by Matt Minich on Cincy Jungle. It’s not a stretch to envision Andy Dalton working off of play action to Joe Mixon, just as Jared Goff did with Todd Gurley.

Minich also points out that Taylor’s quick screens and jet sweeps could allow the Bengals to make better use of super-speedster John Ross than the previous regime ever did. If Ross heals in time from a lingering hamstring injury, I’d expect a heavy dose of these plays in the opening weeks of the season as Green is nursed back to health.

Most of the fantasy football industry’s attention in the wake of Green’s torn ligaments has rightfully centered on the speculative impact to Tyler Boyd’s target volume, which has nudged his ADP (5.06) up a bit. I’ll argue that he should go off the board sooner with so many questions surrounding Green’s return; I prefer Boyd to Cooper Kupp (4.12) and Jarvis Landry (5.05), among others.

Mixon is still a great Round 2 pick in most formats. With Ezekiel Elliott and Melvin Gordon still holding out, it wouldn’t be a stretch to take him at the back end of the first round. Given a likely multitude of negative game scripts, Giovani Bernard is still worth rostering as a PPR flex or bye-week option in deeper leagues.

While fantasy football experts have become enamored with other sleeper running backs, dynasty owners should watch 2019 sixth-round draft pick Rodney Anderson. The former Oklahoma Sooner was just removed from the PUP list and cleared to return to practice after rehabbing a torn ACL suffered last September. Anderson was widely regarded as one of the top running backs in his draft class before sustaining these injuries, so his progress is absolutely worth monitoring.

Meanwhile, Dalton remains a worthwhile bench option or spot starter in 2-QB leagues. The speedy Ross can stretch the defense and, between Boyd and Mixon, Dalton has two premier passing game weapons until the cavalry arrives later in the season in the form of a healthy A.J. Green.

According to Michael LaPlaca of Bengals.com, 2017 fourth-round draft pick Josh Malone is in prime position to take advantage of opportunities afforded to him by injuries to Ross and Green. The former Tennessee Volunteer has caught the eyes of many onlookers:

"“He’s looked strong early on in training camp. The 6’3” 205 lb receiver has made plays in the middle of the field and on the outside. What has impressed many observers is Malone can beat the coverage with some speed and strength, yet have the ability to go up and pinpoint the ball. It makes Malone a worthy red zone target.”"

Overall, the situation in Cincy is as unstable as it is promising, and there’s no better exemplar for this take than the tight end position. Between the forever-injured Tyler Eifert, the inconsistent C.J. Uzomah and unproven second-round pick Drew Sample, Bengals tight ends remain largely undraftable until the late rounds, at best.

Green’s injury isn’t the only cause for skepticism of the product Taylor will lead onto the field in 2019. While it should improve as the year progresses, offensive line continuity could be an issue right out of the gate.  For better or worse, the Bengals welcome three new faces up front; only the Buffalo Bills project to return fewer starters in the trenches. Add it all up, and this “boom or bust” offense will be a test for Taylor right from the start.