Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart 2019 Bengals Depth Chart

Preseason Analysis: Mixon's Time to Shine

Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart 2019

Wide receiver John Ross is one of the league’s fastest receivers pulling in seven touchdowns last season, but injuries and inconsistency have defined his career thus far as he also had seven drops last season. Running back Joe Mixon averaged just shy of 2.8 yards after contact per carry in 2018 and forced 29 missed tackles on 236 carries. Mixon also finished top-five last season in both rushing yards and runs that went for 10 or more yards, while not having any fumbles.

Cordy Glenn and Billy Price were supposed to come in and fix the Bengals’ reeling offensive line last season, but Glenn gave up a career-high 36 pressures while Price season was marred with injury. With the 11th overall pick in the draft, Cincinnati drafted Alabama offensive linemen Jonah Williams, who has starting experience at both left and right tackle. He should start immediately and at least be an enormous upgrade over Bobby Hart. Defensively, Cincinnati failed to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks registering only 36 sacks and 51 QB hits this season.

Cincinnati’s defense actually boasts plenty of talent, including a deep defensive line unit led by talented veterans Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap. defensive tackle Geno Atkins still deserves to be talked about as an elite interior defensive linemen as his quickness, strength and pass-rush savvy allow him to consistently produce at an elite level. Third-year edge defender Carl Lawson showed promise when healthy winning 23.4% of his pass-rushing snaps, while Carlos Dunlap has produced eight seasons of at least 45 total quarterback pressures. Defensively, the holes at the linebacker position can be overlooked by a formidable defensive line and secondary. Third-year edge defender Carl Lawson won 23.4% of his pass-rushing snaps when he was on the field last year, while Carlos Dunlap has produced at least 45 total quarterback pressures in each of the previous eight seasons.

The weak unit of this defense is the linebacker corp, as Preston Brown has caught the injury and missed nine games resulting in a career-worst 55.8 overall grade in the shortened season. He’ll need to prove he still deserves meaningful playing time in 2019. Cincinnati's coverage unit produced only 12 interceptions and 41 pass deflections, while allowing 31 touchdowns through the air. Preston Brown joined the Bengals on a one-year deal before the 2018 season. He played 1000-plus snaps in four seasons with the Buffalo Bills, but the injury bug finally hit him as he missed nine games, but didn’t miss a game in his previous four seasons.

Holes at the linebacker position can be overlooked by a formidable defensive line and secondary William Jackson III is just one year removed from a career year in 2017 allowing just 15 receptions and coming away with 11 pass breakups and an interception. He was up and down in 2018 and allowing five touchdowns, but still registered 10 pass breakups. Safety Jessie Bates III exploded onto the scene as a rookie registering three interceptions and four pass breakups. Last season the Kansas City Chiefs proved you don’t have to be world-beaters defensively but instead hold up in big moments as long as your offense consistently puts up points.

The Bengals could have a sneaky good offensive with quarterback Andy Dalton getting the ball to a healthy A.J. Green, an ascending Tyler Boyd, and a returning Tyler Eifert at tight end. Even though Green was impacted by injury last season, but he still brought in 12-of-21 contested targets while averaging over 18 yards per reception. A healthy Green will give Cincinnati one of the NFL’s most dangerous outside threats. Tyler Boyd also delivered the best season of his young career in 2018 with 1,028 yards while only dropping three passes and proving difficult to bring down with six avoided tackles.

John Ross has been injury plagued but had seven touchdowns and seven drops last season. Joe Mixon also averaged just shy of 2.8 yards after contact per carry in 2018 while also forcing 29 missed tackles on 236 carries. He finished the season top-five in both rushing yards and runs that went for 10 or more yards among running backs, while also not fumbling. Giovani Bernard looks be the second string running back but expect rookies Trayveon Williams and Rodney Anderson to also get carries. This offense could be shockingly efficient regardless of their last place predicted finish.