Between now and the end of August, TGS will offer up a quick snapshot of every NFL team heading into the 2016 regular season. Today, the Cincinnati Bengals.
2015 in a nutshell: They tie a franchise record with 12 wins, capturing the AFC North for the second time in three years. But they lose their cool and blow their home wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, marking the fifth consecutive year in which Cincy has lost on that weekend.
Why 2016 could be different: They lost two of their top three receivers in Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu and two of their top defensive backs in Reggie Nelson and Leon Hall. And Football Outsiders deemed them to be the healthiest team in football last season. That isn’t likely to hold up in 2016.
Major additions: Veteran receiver Brandon LaFell was added to support top wideout A.J. Green, and they added Karlos Dansby to the linebacker corps.
Major losses: Jones, Sanu, Nelson and veteran right tackle Andre Smith signed elsewhere. Hall remains unsigned.
Breakout watch: This is a veteran team, and not a lot of young guys are expected to have extensive playing time. That said, second-year safety Derron Smith could earn starting reps in place of the departed Nelson. The 2015 sixth-round pick played just 14 snaps as a rookie, but the Bengals are pretty thin in that spot.
Position to watch: The receiving corps and the secondary will be interesting, but the offensive tackle positions are especially intriguing. Smith is gone and presumed starters Andrew Whitworth and Eric Winston are 34 and 32, respectively. Meanwhile, waiting in the wings are their top two picks from the 2015 draft, Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher.
Prediction: This is still a good football team, but I’m not sure they got better this offseason. I also doubt the injury gods will be as generous in 2016, and the division rival Steelers should be a force. I think the Bengals will be forced to compete for a wild-card spot.
