I’m going to take a deep breath, make a quick little prayer and knock on all the wood in my vicinity before I say this. It feels so fleeting and delicate, like taking too strong a breath might make it shrivel and fall apart. Ahem…Joe Burrow is having a normal training camp.
Holy cow. Just typing those words sent a shiver down my spine. Could it really be true?
Indeed. In the four years since the Cincinnati Bengals made Burrow the number one pick in the draft, the centerpiece of the Bengals’ renaissance, and a singular sports icon in all of southern Ohio, Burrow has – not once – had an uninterrupted training camp.
It doesn’t seem possible, but it’s true. Back in 2020, during the height of Covid-paranoia, NFL training camp was reduced to virtual meetings and more social-distancing practice than actual practice. That was Burrow’s rookie year. Incredibly, after one of the unluckiest introductions to the league anyone could imagine, Burrow’s training-camp fortunes didn’t improve.
Burrow missed most of 2021 camp recovering from his ACL tear. He missed much of the 2022 camp with an emergency appendectomy. 2023 was the year of the lingering calf strain – which started, predictably, in one of the first days of camp. The first four years of Burrow’s career have been defined by early-season adversity.
This year, that isn’t the case. Burrow did suffer another season-ending injury in 2023 (a wrist this time), but he’s been throwing since early May, well before training camp began in July. As he enters year five, Burrow is more healthy, prepared, and dialed-in than he’s ever been at this point of the season. And that’s a scary proposition for the Bengals’ opponents.
For four years, teams have been able to take advantage of a Burrow-led Bengals team that’s been crippled – sometimes literally – before the season has even begun. Each year, it’s taken some time for the Bengals to find their groove. In 2024, though, the Bengals should be sharp from the jump.
Okay, don’t jinx it. Game one of the preseason does begin tonight, but we’re still almost a month out from real games. There are still many more practices to get through – so don’t break any mirrors and avoid walking under any ladders in the meantime, capiche? Burrow needs all the positive juju he can get.
As exciting as it is that Burrow’s having the smoothest start to the season of his career, there are still questions that need to be answered – and hopefully, we’ll get some insight when the Bengals play the Buccaneers tonight. Here are the biggest questions facing the Bengals as their preseason officially begins:
Is the defense fixed?
Fixed might be a strong word. That implies everything is working as it should. After the disaster we witnessed last year, I’d gladly settle for markedly-improved.
And to be sure, the Bengals should be markedly-improved. They addressed their secondary shortcomings head-on, bringing back longtime friend Von Bell, stealing Geno Stone from the Ravens, moving Dax Hill from safety to corner, and adding two more defensive backs in the draft. To say the Bengals had a makeover isn’t quite doing it justice.
But for as bad as the secondary was last year, the run defense might have been even more appalling. After two-straight seasons of finishing with a top-five run defense, the Bengals cratered all the way to 26th in 2023. This was not helped when stud nose tackle D.J. Reader was lost for the year with a quad injury, but Reader won’t be back in 2024 either after signing with the Lions. The Bengals have – quite literally – a hole in the middle of their defense.
The Bengals, to their credit, didn’t sit idly by as Reader left town. They made moves to shore up their defensive interior, adding two big, strong, experienced dudes in the draft, Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson, who should be able to fill some of that void. But for the Bengals to return to their 2022 run-defense levels, it will require collective improvement – and maybe more importantly, health.
The Bengals defense was beset by injuries last year. Reader was one notable loss, but starting cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt also went down and starting defensive end Sam Hubbard played much of the year with an ankle injury that required surgery in the offseason. As you can imagine, these losses took their toll on the Bengals’ already struggling defensive line and secondary. With all of these reinforcements, the Bengals should – at the very least – be better able to withstand the inevitable attrition of an NFL season.
So, is the defense fixed? I’m not ready to go there – yet. But I still have loads of faith in defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. His track record speaks for itself. The Bengals might not have the makings of a top ten unit, but with the offense looking as potent as ever, as long as they can creep back to average defensively, they should be in business.
Are the Bengals really as deep at the skill positions as they appear to be?
If there’s one place preseason hype might be entirely justified, it’s with the Bengals offense and the diverse collection of skill guys they’ve accumulated. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are the obvious headliners, but even after losing Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon in the offseason, there’s reason to believe the Bengals could be even better in this department in 2024.
In lieu of Boyd, the Bengals have a multitude of promising options. Fifth-year receiver Trenton Irwin has already demonstrated an instinctual connection with Burrow, but second-year Andrei Iosivas has been dominating training camp headlines – and that’s not even mentioning this year’s third-round pick Jermaine Burton and second-year jitterbug Charlie Jones! The abundance doesn’t even stop at receiver.
Second-year running back Chase Brown turned heads with his blazing speed, reaching an eye-watering 22.05 miles per hour as a ball carrier against the Colts in Week 14, while producing enough moments to suggest the Bengals have a real weapon on their hands. Mixon is gone after seven years, but the Bengals added Colts running back Zack Moss in free agency to supplement their speedster. Moss only started eight games last year, but still nearly eclipsed a thousand yards of total offense.
The Bengals also made some reasonable investments at tight end. Drew Sample is back in his role as a blocking-specialist, and Mike Gesicki was added for his jump-ball skills and to hopefully lock down a role as the team’s primary receiving tight end. In the draft, the Bengals also added two promising tight ends in the fourth- and sixth-rounds, further supplementing a position that really struggled to make an impact in 2023.
Erick All comes from good pedigree after being drafted out of tight-end-factory Iowa, and brings good athleticism and advanced receiving skills to the position. Sadly, his career has been derailed by injuries, though he’s been cleared to practice and is already impressing with his ability to make contested catches. The well-rounded sixth-rounder Tanner McLaughlin hasn’t garnered as many highlights, but he – along with surprise-contributor Tanner Hudson – gives the Bengals plenty of options.
Outside of Chase and Higgins, there aren’t any sure-fire superstars, but the Bengals have done a great job over the last two offseasons of finding useful players on the periphery. In 2024, it’s become a bounty. This could realistically be the strongest supporting cast Burrow has ever had. Don’t be surprised if one or two of these lesser-known players turns into a household name by the end of the year.
Is that an offensive line or the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains?
It’s genuinely hard to tell. Among their three top offensive tackles (Orlando Brown Jr., Trent Brown, and Amarius Mims), none stands shorter than 6’8”. The rest aren’t slouching in mass either: Cordell Volson and Alex Cappa tip the scales at 315 lbs., and Ted Karras weighs in at 310. This is one of the biggest lines in the NFL, and they have one mission – keep Joe Burrow protected.
This year, they could actually do it. There’s continuity, with four of five starters returning. There’s depth of experience, with a combined 36 years in the NFL between them. Most importantly, though, there’s a lot of talent. The Bengals have been trying (and failing) to rebuild their offensive line since 2017, and this year, it looks like they finally did it.
Mims is the x-factor. The first-round rookie is oozing with talent, and has already turned heads at practice. He likely won’t be asked to start right away, but it might not be long before this titan of a man forces his way into the starting lineup. Even if he doesn’t, his presence alone provides the Bengals with massive (quite literally) insurance should one of their starters go down for a period of time.
Bengals fans have made jokes for years about how deadly Burrow and the offense could be if he actually had time to make throws. This year, he may actually have it. It’s taken the Bengals some time, but as we stand on the precipice of a new season, this might be, top-to-bottom, the most talented offense since the Zac Taylor-Joe Burrow era began. The Bengals go as Burrow goes, and for the first four years, he’s been driving a beat-up car with a souped-up engine. Now though, he has the frame to match the horsepower.
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