There was a post on the main NFL subreddit that discussed the line issues the Bengals have as of right now. According to the post, Burrow has been sacked 148 in 52 Games, Luck was sacked 115 in 55. We all know what happened with Luck and now Burrow is out for the year from all the hits he’s taken. The priority this offseason in the draft and FA should be Oline. No QB is gonna succeed behind what the Pats have as of now so why is taking a potential franchise LT not seen as ideal with the fan base as of late?
QB is now CLEARLY the priority.
You can find OL available in FA, and have a better chance of finding starting caliber OL later in the draft. It’s also more readily improved by coaching and scheme. A good OT and Center can help a subpar guard, you can chip with TE to help a Tackle, you can keep your back in to pick up a blitz…
You can’t do these things as easily, really at all, with a QB. Elite QBs don’t teach FA.
There’s also a higher concentration of 1st Rd picks as “franchise” QBs in the NFL. I airquote that as some guys aren’t truly franchise guys, but the team is treating them as such currently. The Manning rule, Flag happy refs in the passing game, and NBA foul style roughing the QB calls has given a greater advantage to elite QBs, and it’s leaving average QBs in the dust.
In the past, an average starter wouldn’t be getting eclipsed by the franchise guys every single week. It was easier for defenses to limit how badly elite passing games wouldn eviscerate them. A 3 TD 300 yd game was impressive, now we see 5 of them a weekend.
Now when the 10th ranked QB can get to 30 TDs and 4500 yds, you can’t compete with a guy throwing for 15 TDs and 3000 yds.