Cincinnati Bengals

Franchise Building Blocks: Cincinnati Bengals

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:17 p.m. ET

Fansided, Jon Dove/FanSided via With the First Pick

Despite missing the playoffs, the Cincinnati Bengals have franchise building blocks to get back to their winning ways as early as next season.

The Cincinnati Bengals had a down year that saw several of their most talented players miss time due to injury. This included the team’s most explosive offensive weapon A.J. Green. Cincinnati is hoping for better luck next season and a return playoff appearance.

Offensively, the Bengals have Andy Dalton running the show who is one of the more reliable quarterbacks in the NFL. There are plenty of teams in the league that would love to have someone like Dalton under center.

The running back position is also set with Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard. They are a great one-two punch that brings a little bit of everything to the table.

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A.J. Green is the only pass catcher the Bengals can count on moving forward. The rest of the receiving corps is full of question marks and Tyler Eifert’s injury history makes him a major question mark.

Things along the offensive line are less solid than they have been in a long time. The main issue is that youngsters Jake Fisher and Cedric Ogbuehi struggle when they saw the field. Cincinnati’s plan was to develop both players to take over the tackle positions as early as the upcoming season.

Their lack of development could mean that the Bengals keep Andrew Whitworth around longer than they planned.

The other issue in the trenches is Kevin Zeitler’s pending free agency. Losing him would create a major hole at the guard position. He’s a highly effective player who should get a lot of attention on the open market.

Carlos Dunlap and Geno Akins anchor the defensive side of the ball. Both are disruptive players who continue to get the job done. The rest of the defense is filled with question marks from Vontaze Burfict’s rage to the lack of development from they young cornerbacks.

Dre Kirkpatrick is a pending free agent who finally started living up to this draft status. However, Darqueze Dennard has yet to fulfill his promise and rookie William Jackson III missed the entire year with an injury.

Cincinnati has a tough choice to make with the No. 9 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. They could look to add another pass catcher, help along the offensive line or a standout defensive player.