Since Joe Burrow was drafted in 2020, the conversation about the Cincinnati Bengals offensive line has been non-stop.
Near the end of some seasons, it has felt like they’ve turned a corner. Every time, though, the 0-line was porous again at the start of the next season.
Last year, though, felt different. It seems the Bengals finally have a group with talent and chemistry at all five starting positions.
Amarius Mims is a rising star at right tackle. Dalton Risner held down the right guard spot after
so much instability. Dylan Fairchild flashed enough to think he can be a long-term solution at left guard. And Orlando Brown Jr. is still solid at left tackle.
But outsiders aren’t as optimistic as Bengals fans.
Warren Sharp, who runs Sharp Football Analysis, released his rankings of all 32 offensive lines in the NFL and placed the Bengals in the 28th spot. Here’s what he wrote:
Cincinnati decided to run it back with essentially the same offensive line as a season ago, only adding rookies Brian Parker and Connor Lew. When the primary five starters were on the field together, Bengals running backs averaged 1.4 yards before contact per attempt, ranked 30th out of 48 qualified offensive line combinations.
Though his assessment is accurate, it leaves out the respectable pass blocking that allowed Joe Flacco and Burrow to stay relatively upright. Also, some of those struggles at running back came when Jake Browning was starting at QB.
At this point, the o-line isn’t nearly as much of a concern as the defense, which struggled throughout last year.
The biggest hole in that defense is at linebacker. We discussed what the front office can do to fill that hole.
