Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart 2020 Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart

Another average season from Andy Dalton?

While there’s nothing wrong with Andy Dalton, he also doesn’t bring much excitement either. The starting quarterback for the Bengals since his debut in 2011, Dalton has yet to deliver too much for Cincinnati as he continues to have one average season after another. While he is a 3 time Pro Bowl QB, there simply isn’t too much about Dalton’s skillset to be excited about. While he’s able to get good yardage and his completion percentages aren’t bad, he doesn’t help the team score enough and outside of A.J. Green, doesn’t have a good secondary weapon. 

Entering his age 32 season, Dalton is a very well established quarterback in the league. If the Bengals do decide to team it down after what projects to be another last place finish, expect Dalton to the deciding factor between a total rebuild or continual spiral down to nothingness. He’s making decent money and likely won’t be able to demand much if he reaches free agency due to his lack of pedigree and youth like most other quarterbacks today. 

What to expect from A.J. Green?

Ever since his rookie season, A.J. Green has been seen as a top notch receiver who would be capable of being amongst the best in the league. While he was dominant in his early years, injuries took him out of action last year and an injury during training camps has him in jeopardy for at least the start of this year. He had to undergo surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left ankle that will likely keep him out of action until early to mid September. However, these ankle injuries are always different for each player and rushing Green back could risk a more serious injury. 

When he is healthy, there’s no doubt Green is still one of the top at his position. However, while other top receivers are members of elite offenses or have top notch quarterbacks throwing to them, Green has Andy Dalton and the rest of the Bengals offense. While they’re certainly not bad, it’s a far cry from the systems of the Falcons, Saints, Steelers, and Browns to name a few. When Green gets the ball in his hands, there’s great potential for him to score and make plays down the field. However, without much of a supporting cast, getting the ball to him will be the tricky part. 

What’s Cincinnati’s next move?

After making a lot of moves by their own perspective, Cincinnati hasn’t done a lot to make themselves necessarily better. At the same time, their team doesn’t look much worse than last year. However, with the Browns no longer the joke of the NFL and looking like a legitimate contender, the Bengals now find themselves in the AFC North cellar. Coupled with the fact that the Ravens and Steelers both look competitive considering their new look QB and trades of top tier players, the Bengals simply don’t have what it takes to compete. 

While you can argue the Bengals did nothing wrong this offseason by addressing their needs at the offensive line position and making chances at the coaching staff, the rest of the division simply did too much. The Cincinnati franchise needs to decide what to do with their future. Andy Dalton is an average quarterback at best that can win games but lacks the weapons needed. The running back position continues to be a committee without a clear #1 favorite. The Bengals have yet to hit on a true #2 receiver to pair with A.J. Green who is coming off injury. The defense ranked 30th last year and doesn’t look to be moving far from that spot anytime soon.