Every NFL roster has strengths and weaknesses, and the Cincinnati Bengals are no different. The annual hope is that the team has more strengths than weaknesses. Those are the teams that have the potential to achieve greatness.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the three biggest strengths on Cincinnati’s roster heading into the 2024 NFL season.
Quarterback
It’s all about the quarterback in the NFL, and the Bengals have one of the best in Joe Burrow. Over his first four seasons, Burrow led the Bengals to two AFC Championship games and a Super Bowl appearance.
He was named to a Pro Bowl in 2022 and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2021. He also led the league in completion percentage that same year.
His addition immediately catapulted Cincinnati into contender status. Yes, he’s coming off of a season-ending wrist injury, but all signs point to Burrow being fully healthy for the 2024 season, and as long as he’s out on the field. quarterback will remain a major strength for Cincinnati.
Safety
The safety spot was not necessarily a strength for the Bengals last season. However, the front office was active in the name of improvement.
And the team bolstered the safety spot in a big way in free agency by bringing in Geno Stone and Vonn Bell. Those two will be competing for the two starting spots along with second-year safety Jordan Battle, who the team is very high on.
Battle was recently as the team’s breakout candidate for the 2024 season. As a rookie last season, he played in all 17 games for Cincinnati and tallied 71 total tackles, five passes defended and one interception.
It seems like Battle is the future of the safety position in Cincinnati, but he’ll have to win the job first. Overall, it seems like the Bengals now have at least three starting-caliber safeties, and that depth should be beneficial.
Wide receiver
Now that Tee Higgins has officially signed his tender for 2024, it’s safe to highlight the receiver position as a major strength for Cincinnati.
With free agency likely in his future, Higgins should be motivated to have a monster season in order to boost his own value as much as possible.
Then there’s Ja’Marr Chase, who has already established himself as one of the best receivers in the entire NFL. Chase went over 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons with the Bengals, and there’s no reason to think that streak should stop in 2024.
The Bengals did lose veteran receiver Tyler Boyd to the Tennessee Titans in free agency, but they also added rookie receiver Jermaine Burton in the third round of the ’23 draft, and there are high hopes for him. He should get an opportunity to truly contribute during his first season.
