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Surprise: The biggest weakness for the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason isn’t the offensive line.
No, the Bengals return all five starting linemen for the first time in the Joe Burrow era. That leaves the door open for a new weakness to take the crown.
Fans won’t hesitate to shout it out, either: Linebacker.
The Bengals have spent all offseason, through actions and words, reinforcing their faith in sophomores Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., while struggling veteran backup Oren Burks pretty much went unchallenged, too.
That's a big part of the reason the Bengals’ overall starting lineups on both sides of the ball only rank 15th in a new exercise from ESPN.
“All three struggled badly in 2025, ranking 83rd, 85th and 88th, respectively, in PFF grade among 88 qualified LBs,” Mike Clay wrote. “Cincinnati hopes Carter and Knight make a big leap in their second pro seasons.”
The Bengals don’t just hope second-year leaps happen on their lonesome. They went out and added Dexter Lawrence at nose tackle to reshape the entire front seven and added Jonathan Allen to the interior rotation, too.
It’s not the most outlandish idea. But Bengals fans who saw how miserable the depth at linebacker was last year can be forgiven for wondering if the team shouldn’t be going after a steady free agent like Bobby Wagner, anyway.
Linebacker is, after all, a weakness that could do more harm on the field and to the team’s Super Bowl hopes than in any paper rankings.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals’ biggest weakness tanks them in starting lineup rankings
Continue reading...
No, the Bengals return all five starting linemen for the first time in the Joe Burrow era. That leaves the door open for a new weakness to take the crown.
Fans won’t hesitate to shout it out, either: Linebacker.
The Bengals have spent all offseason, through actions and words, reinforcing their faith in sophomores Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., while struggling veteran backup Oren Burks pretty much went unchallenged, too.
That's a big part of the reason the Bengals’ overall starting lineups on both sides of the ball only rank 15th in a new exercise from ESPN.
“All three struggled badly in 2025, ranking 83rd, 85th and 88th, respectively, in PFF grade among 88 qualified LBs,” Mike Clay wrote. “Cincinnati hopes Carter and Knight make a big leap in their second pro seasons.”
The Bengals don’t just hope second-year leaps happen on their lonesome. They went out and added Dexter Lawrence at nose tackle to reshape the entire front seven and added Jonathan Allen to the interior rotation, too.
It’s not the most outlandish idea. But Bengals fans who saw how miserable the depth at linebacker was last year can be forgiven for wondering if the team shouldn’t be going after a steady free agent like Bobby Wagner, anyway.
Linebacker is, after all, a weakness that could do more harm on the field and to the team’s Super Bowl hopes than in any paper rankings.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals’ biggest weakness tanks them in starting lineup rankings
Continue reading...
