The Cincinnati Bengals have invested heavily in replacing Trey Hendrickson through the Draft and failed pretty miserably.
Still, the search must go on to give some stability to the pass rush.
ESPN recently put out an offseason guide for all the teams that have been eliminated from the playoffs, and analyst Aaron Schatz wrote that the Bengals’ top offseason priority is to “Add juice to the pass rush”. He noted that, while the young pass rushers on the roster gave a glimpse of hope, Cincinnati still finished last in pass rush win rate for the year.
So how does Schatz see the Bengals addressing their biggest problem?
He thinks they need to target edge rushers in the first round “That matches the strength of this class, where David Bailey (Texas Tech) and Keldric Faulk (Auburn) could be realistic options,” Schatz wrote.
Alternatively, Schatz explained, if Cincinnati really believes that Shemar Stewart and Myles Murphy are long-term answers, they could instead target a “space-eating defensive tackle like Caleb Banks (Florida) [who] would improve the line in a hurry.”‘
Schatz’s big prediction for the Bengals, though, was in free agency. “The Bengals will sign more than one veteran edge rusher, such as Joey Bosa, Yetur Gross-Matos, D.J. Wonnum or Charles Omenihu.”
Of course, the question, as always, is whether those players will be willing to sign for less guaranteed money in Cincinnati than they would get elsewhere.
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