The Bengals had to address several needs on a roster which won nine games in 2023, a step down from their back-to-back AFC Championship appearances. These five players should help to get the Bengals back over the edge in 2024.

Sheldon Rankins

There is no excuse for the Bengals lack of pass rush production in 2023. The Bengals currently have the 4th most cap dollars tied up in their defensive line. Despite a down year from Sam Hubbard, the Cincinnati kid was 2nd on the team in sacks, with just six. In front of him, by a large gap was Trey Hendrickson with 17.5 sacks. The rest of the Bengals defense combined for just 20.5 sacks. With Hendrickson accounting for 39%, the Bengals finished 18th in the league in sacks. Outside of Hendrickson, the Bengals really have no pass rush production.

Cincinnati ranked 23rd in pass rush win rate per ESPN. The Detroit Lions were the only playoff team from 2023 to rank worse (26th). Every AFC playoff team ranked inside the top ten, except for the Kansas City Chiefs. Having a pass rush unit that can apply pressure to the opposing quarterback is life or death in the NFL.

Sheldon Rankins finished 2023 with the 10th highest pass rush win rate among all interior defensive linemen. The Bengals were heavy contributors in this metric. Rankins had a career day in the jungle, sacking Joe Burrow three times, totaling 9 pressures, and earning a 93.1 pass rush grade from PFF.

If the Bengals can get more of those performances out of Rankins they’ll finally have found their much-needed interior disruptor.

Trent Brown

When I’m talking about big offseason moves, I’m speaking literally when it comes to the massive 6’8 frame of new Right Tackle Trent Brown. Via data from PFF, the Bengals offensive system lends little help to their tackles, leaving them on islands in one-on-one pass blocking scenarios. At the 7th highest rate in the league as a team, the Bengals found the tackle who was left on an island the most in the NFL last year in Trent Brown.

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Trent Brown is the best pass blocking right tackle that Joe Burrow has had since entering the league. Pairing Brown with fellow Brown, Orlando gives the Bengals a gigantic pair of bookend tackles. Both standing at 6’8 and 340+ pounds, it’ll be hard for defenders to get around them, and nearly impossible to get through them.

Not only is their size a benefit for Burrow, but the Bengals running back duo of Zack Moss and Chase Brown stand at a respectable 5’9. Good luck locating them on defense.

Trent Brown is the bridge tackle the Bengals needed this year, allowing the team to truly go best player available in the draft without any glaring holes on their roster. A huge addition for a championship aspiring roster.

Amarius Mims

Cincinnati was desperate to find athleticism on the offensive line. Having athletic linemen has a clear correlation to offensive line success in the NFL. And the Bengals are way behind the rest of the league in this metric.

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Well, they’re about to get a boost. Amarius Mims’ tape, while limited, shows a hyper-athletic behemoth of an offensive tackle. The way Mims is able to move freely and effortlessly as a man his size is unnatural. The tape proves it and so does his relative athletic score (RAS).

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Mims will surely provide a crucial and long missing component to a long struggling Bengals offensive line. The Bengals have mostly failed to protect Joe Burrow thus far in his four-year career. The Bengals finished with the seventh most pass attempts in each of the last two seasons. But they’ve also taken more sacks than most of the league in this recent span. The Bengals needed better pass protectors and they got one in Mims.

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With limited tape and experience yes, comes a surprisingly polished-looking tackle with elite size and athleticism. Mims’ profile projects him to be a starting tackle in the NFL with the potential to be one of the best pass blockers in this class.

While Mims might not start right away, that doesn’t mean he isn’t valuable to the Bengals in year one. Sitting behind Orlando Brown Jr. and Trent Brown, Mims is the best depth piece the Bengals have had, maybe ever! Cincinati has had to start MULTIPLE backup offensive linemen during their two recent playoff runs. Current Right Tackle Trent Brown is 31 and played one full season just once in the last five years. Having a player of Mims’ caliber to fall back on is something the Bengals haven’t had and could prove to be crucial at some point in the season.

Geno Stone

Geno Stone is a young, ascending player at only 24 years old. The Bengals needed a pure deep free safety and they found one in Stone, where he played most of his snaps. Stone’s playmaking ability was on full display in 2023, collecting a league high for safeties with seven interceptions. His grade in coverage from PFF was 7th best among all safeties and his passer rating allowed was 3rd best in the league. The Bengals picked up one of the NFL’s best safeties from last year.

The addition of Geno Stone allows defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo to get creative. Maximizing former first round pick Daxton Hill is a must. Hil struggled as the team’s free safety in 2023, leading to many explosive plays allowed amid communication issues with the defense. Playing Hill closer to the line of scrimmage will better suit him. Hill was the team’s best coverage corner against tight ends and playing him the box will give them that matchup. His athleticism and run defense will be maximized near the line of scrimmage in underneath coverage. By signing Stone, the Bengals improved at free safety and may have improved in the front seven as well.

Perhaps the icing on the cake is where Stone is coming from. The division rival Baltimore Ravens. Being able to take away from a divisional opponent is huge. Not only does your roster get stronger, but theirs also gets weaker. Stone has played on some very good Baltimore teams, having big game experience and that AFC North toughness built in should prove to be useful.

Stone was one of the best safeties available as a young, improving player with good ball production. The Bengals needed to make an addition to a secondary that allowed the sixth most pass yards in 2023.

Zack Moss

The Bengals moved off of long-time running back Joe Mixon in order to become younger, cheaper, and more efficient at running back in 2024. A difficult but necessary step for this offense. For as much as Joe Mixon did for the Bengals, it was time to move on. Mixon could no longer provide what the Bengals needed, but Zack Moss certainly can.

Moss is the better pass blocker, and the Bengals need all the help they can get in that department. Moss is also the younger player by a small gap and has less wear and tear in his body. But where the real value lies is Moss’ explosiveness compared to Mixon. The Bengals desperately needed better efficiency from their run plays. Moss ranked 5th in rush yards over expected per attempt. Meaning he is creating his own space. Since 2022, Moss has more runs of 20+ yards, a higher yards per carry, and more forced missed tackles than Mixon while having less carries. Moss is the more efficient runner.