With consecutive conference title appearances and a Super Bowl appearance under their belt over the last few seasons, it’s no wonder why the Cincinnati Bengals get all the praise they do.
They have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Joe Burrow and they have surrounded him with a bunch of weapons.
On the defensive side of things, the Bengals are already one of the better units in terms of fewest points per game, and they retooled nicely in the NFL Draft.
The Bengals will be right in the thick of things in the AFC in 2023. However, according to Pro Football Focus, it won’t be because of what most will say.
The Bengals have made a conscious effort to improve their offensive line since Joe Burrow’s season-ending knee injury in 2020. The unit was improved in 2022 and should be even better in 2023 following the addition of Orlando Brown Jr. The Bengals should yet again be one of the toughest teams in the conference.
The 2022 offseason certainly laid the groundwork for where the Bengals’ offensive line is now.
Although they made the Super Bowl in 2021, the Bengals allowed the third-most sacks with 55. Once the season was over, the Bengals made several moves to mix those woes.
Cincinnati would bring in right tackle La’el Collins, right guard Alex Cappa, and center Ted Karras on long-term deals. The Bengals got 47 starts out of them, and the team did give up 11 fewer sacks.
However, the addition of Brown, a four-time Pro Bowler, was a perfect counter to Collins going down with a torn ACL/MCL, with Jonah Williams seemingly on board with a switch to the right side, Cincinnati is in good shape.
The Bengals are already one of the highest-scoring teams in the NFL. Improvement in offensive line play can allow that extra second or two here and there that Burrow needs to keep feeding Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd and generate more points.
It’s been a process, but the Bengals’ offensive line is trending up.
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