Answering the 5 most important questions heading into Cincinnati Bengals training camp
After a month of waiting, the Cincinnati Bengals are about to start up training camp for the 2024 NFL season.Rookies will report to Cincinnati this Saturday, July 20 and vets arrive on the following Tuesday, July 23. It won't be long afterwards we're covering preseason action, final cuts, and previewing Week 1 against the New […]
After a month of waiting, the Cincinnati Bengals are about to start up training camp for the 2024 NFL season.
Rookies will report to Cincinnati this Saturday, July 20 and vets arrive on the following Tuesday, July 23. It won't be long afterwards we're covering preseason action, final cuts, and previewing Week 1 against the New England Patriots.
Much is to be learned about these Bengals before September rolls around, so let's take a shot at answering the five most important questions heading into Bengals training camp.
1. How will Joe Burrow manage his recovering wrist?
It truly starts here, as it should with any team in this scenario. With the franchise quarterback still working back from a unique injury, how much time will Burrow spend resting the most important right wrist in the city? Will he need regular off days, or will they be random based on how he feels?
The last three training camps have featured Burrow either coming back from an injury, or him suffering one during practice. It's lead to sluggish starts for the offense as a whole once the regular season commenced. Burrow's goal is to make sure that doesn't happen once more, and if that means taking a day off for soreness, then that's what will happen.
Seeing the process unfold over the next several weeks will be the most interesting aspect of camp. A fair expectation is Burrow takes about a day off per week, letting Jake Browning take starting reps every now and again leading up to September.
2. Who comes out on top at cornerback between Dax Hill and DJ Turner II?
Of the true positional battles on the team, none might be more important than the cornerback spot opposite of Cam Taylor-Britt. Turner emerged as the starter last year while Chidobe Awuzie was coming back from a torn ACL, but a disappointing end of the season has opened the door for competition.
But nobody expected Hill to become the main competitor after he spent the last two years developing at safety and starting there all last year. Free agency passed without the Bengals signing a true cornerback, and the NFL Draft provided just a fifth-round pick in Josh Newton.
Now Hill is a cornerback out of necessity. Perhaps it will be the change his career needs. If not, Turner will get another chance to solidify himself as a starter, and Hill becomes a do-it-all defensive back coming off the bench.
Turner keeping his job is the safest bet considering he's not the one learning a new position, but Hill will get a fair shot at preventing that from happening.
3. What will the defensive tackle rotation look like?
Life without DJ Reader begins now as the Bengals' defensive line will have to switch things up. B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins figure to be the two starters, but where do rookies Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson fit in the picture?
Truthfully, there is no one player on the roster who can do what Reader did for the past three years. Cincinnati's scheme was centered around their dominant two-gapping nose tackle as defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo enjoyed a luxury very few teams have. The scheme figures to be altered now that the personnel is vastly different.
Relying on multiple players instead of one very large one to keep the run defense sturdy figures to be the plan. Jenkins and Jackson will be coming in and out of the game to hold the point of attack so Hill and Rankins aren't overworked. Zach Carter will need to show quick development as well before he's overshadowed in the process.
4. Will there be a true battle at right tackle?
Trent Brown vs. Amarius Mims would be a battle of literal behemoths. While they share similar extraordinary size, they are separated by 10 years in age. Brown has all the wisdom and experience the 21-year old Mims hopes to have by the time he's 31.
Perhaps that is why Brown will keep the job for Week 1 no matter what, but if Mims builds off the work he put in during OTAs when Brown wasn't present, will the coaching staff opt to roll with the younger and more athletic option?
I think Mims will continue to get reps as he's expected to play a ton in the preseason, but outside of a surprise injury, I don't foresee him actually pushing Brown for the starting gig. Having him on the bench is a luxury they can actually afford now. And rest assured, Brown won't be cut if he somehow isn't the starter exiting August.
5. Who emerges as the third receiving option?
Everyone knows what Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins bring to the table when both are on the field. Tyler Boyd was firmly settled as the third piece of the trio for the last three years, and now with Boyd gone, plenty of targets are on the table for the taking.
Mike Gesicki, Jermaine Burton, and Andrei Iosivas. The floor is yours.
How Zac Taylor and his offensive staff implements all three players will represent arguably the biggest change to the unit outside of the new running back duo of Zack Moss and Chase Brown. Gesicki will play in the slot plenty and Burton will see time there as well, but there is no one true replacement for Boyd.
And that's what's exciting.
Gesicki was brought in to be the starting tight end, and his ability to run routes from multiple alignments gives him the edge for more targets over Burton and Iosivas for now. But don't underestimate how quickly Burton's explosive ability can change that.
Bengals unofficially kick off training camp Saturday with rookies reporting first to Cincinnati
Football is nearly back in Cincinnati.
