The Cincinnati Bengals‘ 53-man roster is far more well-rounded than it was a year ago when it made a run to the Super Bowl. Much of that stems from their improved offensive line. With the talent everywhere else on offense, they can go into 2022 deep on the offensive line.
Cincinnati Bengals 53-man roster projection
The Bengals made a surprising run to the Super Bowl last season. There will be no surprises in 2022. Cincinnati has a very good roster with a much improved offensive line. That was easily their biggest sore spot in 2021, as Joe Burrow was once again under siege for most of the season.
Starters will be annotated with an asterisk.
Cincinnati Bengals offense (24)
Quarterback:
Joe Burrow*
Brandon Allen
Running back:
Joe Mixon*
Samaje Perine
Chris Evans
Wide receiver:
Ja’Marr Chase*
Tee Higgins*
Tyler Boyd*
Stanley Morgan
Mike Thomas
Trent Taylor
Tight end:
Hayden Hurst*
Drew Sample
Mitchell Wilcox
Offensive tackle:
Jonah Williams*
La’el Collins*
D’Ante Smith
Isaiah Prince
Offensive guard:
Cordell Volson*
Alex Cappa*
Hakeem Adeniji
Jackson Carman
Center:
Ted Karras*
Trey Hill
Cincinnati Bengals defense (26)
Defensive end:
Trey Hendrickson*
Sam Hubbard*
Cam Sample
Joseph Ossai
Noah Spence
Khalid Kareem
Defensive tackle:
D.J. Reader*
B.J. Hill*
Zach Carter
Josh Tupou
Linebacker:
Logan Wilson*
Germaine Pratt*
Akeem Davis-Gaither
Markus Bailey
Clay Johnston
Cornerback:
Eli Apple*
Chidobe Awuzie*
Mike Hilton*
Cam Taylor-Britt
Tre Flowers
Jalen Davis
Safety:
Jessie Bates III*
Vonn Bell*
Dax Hill
Brandon Wilson
Tycen Anderson
Cincinnati Bengals specialists (3)
Evan McPherson (K)
Kevin Huber (P)
Clark Harris (LS)
PUP/IR
LB Joe Bachie
While Mike Brown and Duke Tobin don’t seem interested in spending capital to retain Jessie Bates for the long run, they did go out and spend money on the offensive line in the offseason.
La’el Collins must stay healthy, but if he does, he’s worth every penny. Adding Alex Cappa and Ted Karras to bolster the interior were both solid moves as well.
They’re also well-rounded on the defensive side of the ball. Trey Hendrickson is emerging as a high-end pass rusher, and they had free agent cornerbacks outperform expectations last season. Then, the Bengals decided to add insurance to the defensive backfield in the first two rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Cincinnati has one of the top rosters in the league and should contend in a heavily contested AFC.