I don’t think people realize how much cap room the Bengals have next season. They are projected to have the fifth most in the league, around 70 million dollars. This is without cutting guys like Mixon or Nick Scott who could potentially free up an aditional 10 million dollars.
They have the means to improve this team once again through free agency to plug upcoming holes.
RT, LG, interior defensive line, and WR2 all need to be addressed this off-season with Jonah Williams, DJ Reader, and Higgins being free agents and Volson just not being the guy.
How would you go about spending that 70 million dollars?
In my mind, I prioritize it like this:
RT, LG, interior DL, WR2
I am sick and tired of not being good enough in the trenches.
Going through your priorities in order:
I think Jonah will be too expensive to keep around. He is solid but not great and will be look for $18M+. If we draft in the top 15, we should let Jonah walk and draft the best OT available.
I’m a Volson hater, but I don’t think LG can be their second highest priority. He is serviceable enough that you could get away with him if you upgrade two other spots on the line. I would like to see draft iOL in the first three rounds; Kappa and Karras would benefit from competition, too.
DT is a huge priority. Our depth sucks as it is, and we lack much of a pass rush from the interior. I retain DJ Reader, although given his age (29), I don’t know if the Bengals actually will. Draft DT with your other day 2 pick.
WR2, franchise tag Higgins. If you trade him, you have another day 2 pick to spend on a WR, otherwise, you have your WR2 and take the time next year to evaluate Iosivas and Charlie Jones.
We can’t rely on free agency for the O-line; great O-lineman do not hit free agency. You are left paying a premium for mediocre talent. One of Fashanu, Alt, Fuaga, and Latham will be available when we pick (pending combines on these guys; want to make sure the pick is an actual athlete).
I think Burrow will make average WRs look good; already seeing that with the performances of Tanner Hudson and Trenton Irwin. We don’t need to allocate a ton of cap space to WR. If Higgins is tagged and not traded, don’t expect him to be around in 2025.