Quarterback
Starter: Joe Burrow
Free agents: Joe Flacco, Jake Browning (restricted)
Depth: Sean Clifford
Flacco’s success in Cincinnati reinforced a lot of the traits and qualities that Zac Taylor and Dan Pitcher value in the quarterback position.
While Flacco will likely be looking for a shot to play or compete for a starting spot, the Bengals will probably try to find a backup quarterback option who’s as similar to Flacco as possible. The qualities that impressed the coaches the most include his football IQ, processing, level-headedness, attention to detail, accuracy and game management skills. These coaches love quarterbacks who have played a lot of football (there’s a reason why Zac Taylor has the high school stats of all of his quarterbacks memorized). The Bengals will prioritize all of that over traits like raw arm strength and scrambling ability.
Running back
Starter: Chase Brown
Depth: Samaje Perine, Tahj Brooks
The coaching staff loved this room so much in 2025 that for the first time during Taylor’s tenure with the Bengals, the Bengals invested a significant amount of snaps toward plays with two running backs on the field. The Bengals should be set here.
Wide receiver
Starters: Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas
Depth: Mitch Tinsley, Charlie Jones, Ke’Shawn Williams
The distractions surrounding Jermaine Burton’s Bengals career overshadowed the fact that the Bengals could have really benefited from having a receiver with Burton’s specific skill set in the mix. Burton is long gone now, and the perfect ideal depth receiver piece for the Bengals would have the exact skill set that Burton brought to the table.
If the Bengals get a chance to add a young, physical receiver with the straight line speed to serve as a vertical deep threat while also contributing in the kick return game, that would be a great complement to Iosivas at WR3.
It’s unlikely that the Bengals would use a Day 1 or Day 2 pick at receiver. The most likely chance to add this style of receiver would be a Day 3 pick that looks just like Iosivas — a development traits receiver who develops into a role over time. If the right receiver is on the board when the Bengals are on the clock, that should be a conversation. But the Bengals also have so many needs that they might not get to address receiver in the draft.
While adding to the back of the receiver room would be nice, the Bengals seem fine with where they stand. Iosivas is very consistent on downfield targets, and he has been a great dirty work receiver. Mike Gesicki is essentially a wide receiver, as is Tanner Hudson (assuming the Bengals re-sign him).
Tight end
Starter: Mike Gesicki
Depth: Drew Sample, Erick All, Cam Grandy
Free agents: Noah Fant, Tanner Hudson
For an offense that’s bringing back 10 starters and should bring back all 11 by re-signing Dalton Risner, the storyline I’m most interested in during OTAs and training camp is the return of Erick All.
All literally changed the Bengals’ offense during his rookie season as the Bengals’ first complete tight end in years.
Pitcher described All like this: “When you have a player like that with a blend of athleticism, real strength when he puts his hands on people, the willingness to use that strength, the willingness to be violent when required, then the ability to run downfield and catch the ball…
“Maybe it goes beyond willing and it turns into eager — there’s an eagerness to be violent. That’s probably a better descriptor.”
The problem is All’s injury history, particularly with his knee. He hasn’t played since November of 2024 due to an ACL injury, and he also tore his ACL in 2023. You have no way of knowing for sure what All is going to look like — it could be anything.
Speaking with All at the end of last season, he’s very excited about his progress as well as his plan for the offseason. It’s his first chance in a while to have a “normal” offseason now that he’s ready to get back to work, and he feels like he has a very detailed plan in place to take his strength and athleticism up to an even higher level for the 2026 season. The plan just has to translate coming off of a major surgery.
Tanner Hudson has been a long-time favorite of Burrow’s, and the Bengals are the best fit in the league for Hudson’s skill set. He should stick around.
Offensive line
Starters: Orlando Brown Jr., Dylan Fairchild, Ted Karras, Amarius Mims
Free agents: Dalton Risner, Lucas Patrick, Cordell Volson
Depth: Jalen Rivers, Cody Ford, Matt Lee
Is the Risner extension done yet?
Bengals’ players took every opportunity near the end of the season to discuss how much Risner was wanted back, Risner wants to return and the Bengals’ coaches had a lot of appreciation for his level of play in 2025. The Bengals have a rare chance to enter a new season with complete continuity across the offensive line.
The weakest part of the Bengals’ depth chart last season — worse than anything on the defense — was what the Bengals had at swing tackle with their depth behind Brown and Mims. The Bengals should be thanking their lucky stars that neither of them missed time. Cody Ford looms as a cap casualty, and Jalen Rivers is a guard, not a tackle.
Brown is entering the final year of his contract. It’s a possibility that the Bengals could try to find a developmental tackle with traits in the middle of the draft to take a shot at restocking the pipeline while also giving the team better depth for 2026.
Factoring in the possibility that Ford gets cut and considering how Lee was behind Patrick on the depth chart this year up until Lee suffered a season-ending injury, the Bengals have very, very little offensive line depth. They’ll need to make sure they address that, but that’s not a unique problem and will also be the case for every single team in the NFL this offseason.
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