Bengals Begin Hunt For Offensive Linemen

NFL Offseason – In these editions of Four Downs, we’ll review the biggest hole on each team in the division and then give a short look at each team’s major free agents for 2022.

Baltimore Ravens

Biggest Need: Pass Rush

This could easily be offensive line, safety, defensive tackle, or either inside or outside linebacker, a laundry list that should give some idea of the falloff in Baltimore and the work that needs to be done this offseason. Sure, there was an injury tsunami, and Lamar Jackson will be back this fall to perform his wonders. But the overall strength of the team is a far cry from what it was when the Ravens went 14-2 and were the top seed in the AFC in 2019.

Still, pass rush is first among equals when it comes to problems. The Ravens managed just 34 sacks and were 30th in adjusted sack rate, an incredible stat given the team’s usual strong showing in that department. In 2021, their passing defense was 30th in the league by DVOA. Some of that was injuries in the secondary, to be sure, but plenty of it was a lack of pass rush. Tyus Bowser led the Ravens with 7.0 sacks. Compare that to the leaders on the other AFC North squads—T.J. Watt (22.5), Myles Garrett (16.0) and Trey Hendrickson (14.0). And Bowser had just 20 pressures.

Bowser and rookie Odafe Oweh (tops on the team with 25 pressures) are the only two certainties for 2022. The Ravens may well target an edge rusher with the 14th overall pick—amazingly, Baltimore has only selected a defensive lineman in the first round once (Haloti Ngata back in 2006). A player like Michigan’s David Ojabo, talented but raw, would make a ton of sense, fitting stylistically with Baltimore’s “develop-then-unleash-hell!” system, an assembly line that has hit some snags lately.

In free agency, the money is tight, especially with Jackson’s extension looming. That would lead the Ravens to cheaper veterans, and they have a long history of signing last-rodeo types who squeeze out strong final seasons while wearing purple. The likes of Chandler Jones and Von Miller fit that description. If they can afford a player with more long-term potential, the Ravens could target Emmanuel Ogbah to help get more edge pressure into their lineup.

Major Free Agents: Calais Campbell (DE), Bradley Bozeman (C/G), Brandon Williams (NT), Sammy Watkins (WR), Patrick Ricard (FB), Jimmy Smith (CB), Justin Houston (OLB), Justin Ellis (DT), Pernell McPhee (OLB), L.J. Fort (ILB), Devonta Freeman (RB), Latavius Murray (RB), Anthony Levine (S), DeShon Eliott (S), Anthony Averett (CB), Nick Moore (LS)

It says something for the roster churn about to happen in Baltimore that of the 16 names listed above, the most likely to return for 2022 is the long snapper, Nick Moore. Many of these guys were brought in for depth or emergency fill-ins after the injury wave hit and are easy farewells. Bozeman has athletic limits but is a quality lineman in a league desperate for them and is probably out of Baltimore’s price range. Averett played well enough when the starting corners went down—possibly well enough that another team outbids the Ravens for his services. Guys like Campbell, Williams, and Smith are nearer to retirement than another multi-year deal.

Cincinnati Bengals

Biggest Need: Offensive Line

I mean, you saw the Super Bowl, right?

Of course, the Bengals had issues in pass protection long before surrendering 19 sacks in four postseason games, including seven to the Rams in the finale and nine to the Titans in the divisional round (yes, they still were a play or two from winning it all). Only the Bears had a worse adjusted sack rate allowed during the regular season; only Chicago and Baltimore gave up more sacks. Even when Joe Burrow managed to Houdini his way out of trouble, the pressure on him was relentless.

The run blocking wasn’t nearly as bad, ranking 15th in adjusted line yards. Yet the team was also second from the bottom in “power” situations (defined as third down, fourth down, or goal line with 1-2 yards to go). The wide zone concepts the team employs have had decent success but the linemen, while athletic, lack play strength. Communication was also an issue, especially on the right side, where injury and youth proved a deadly combo.

Clearly, Cincy will attack the weakness in both free agency and the draft—which, of course, it did last season, signing Riley Reiff and drafting three players, including second-rounder Jackson Carman. While Carman disappointed, the team isn’t going to bail on him after a single season. It’s likely the Bengals reverse the 2021 strategy and mainly address the line in free agency. Will they break the bank on a Terron Armstead? Sign an entirely new interior group—for argument’s sake, say Ryan Jensen, James Daniels, and Connor Williams? Trade the 31st pick for Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil? All options are on the table, with every position up for replacement—left tackle Jonah Williams is a mainstay but is versatile enough to change positions if needed.

Just remember, the team needs help in the pass rush and at cornerback, too…

Major Free Agents: C.J. Uzomah (TE), Larry Ogunjobi (DT), B.J. Hill (DT), Quinton Spain (OG), Eli Apple (CB), Tre Flowers (CB), Riley Reiff (OT), Clark Huber (P)

Spain had a poor Super Bowl but a quality season overall. Uzomah is a key figure in the locker room and had his best season in 2021—the crowded tight end market could be a benefit in re-signing him to a team-friendly deal. The two tackles, Ogunjobi and Hill, were critical pieces who earned quality dollars, and much as the Bengals would like to keep both they may not be able to pay that freight. Conversely, Apple and Flowers probably can both be retained if the team chooses to do so. The 34-year-old Reiff, coming off ankle surgery, isn’t likely to return and may retire.

Cleveland Browns

Biggest Need: Wide Receiver

The Browns had the NFL’s top-rated rushing attack by DVOA, but just the 18th-ranked passing attack. Blame Baker Mayfield and his injuries all you like, but the plain fact is there was something broken in Cleveland’s passing game beyond the flaws that Odell Beckham Sr. pointed out.

A lack of talent had something to do with it. Once Beckham was alienated, that left a banged-up and aging Jarvis Landry; Droppin’ Donovan Peoples-Jones (59% catch rate, 66th-best among wideouts); Rashard Higgins, who returned to Cleveland specifically to keep his magic with Mayfield alive (and somehow had a 51% catch rate for his troubles); and rookie Anthony Schwartz, who incredibly underperformed them all with a 43% catch rate.

Needless to say, finding someone to catch the damn ball is the first order of business by the lake. Cleveland has a good amount of cap room and could try to land one of the top free-agent wideouts—Davante Adams, Chris Godwin, Mike Williams, and Allen Robinson—on the market. Whether they are successful there or not, look for the Browns to use their first-round draft pick (13th overall) on the position. Options abound, be it a local hero such as Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson or Chris Olave; a big body such as Drake London of USC or Treylon Burks of Arkansas; or an injured Alabaman such as John Metchie or Jameson Williams (recovering from torn ACL tears suffered in the college postseason).

Major Free Agents: Jadeveon Clowney (DE), Takk McKinley (DE), Malik Jackson (DT), David Njoku (TE, franchise tagged), Chris Hubbard (OT), Anthony Walker (LB), Ronnie Harrison (S), Rashard Higgins (WR), Malcolm Smith (LB), Dustin Colquitt (P)

One year after a major shakeup on the Browns defensive front, another could be in the offing. Clowney had a good season (9.0 sacks, 32 pressures, solid run defense) but the well-traveled former No. 1 overall pick will go where the best offer is—and that may or may not be Cleveland. McKinley suffered a torn Achilles that puts his 2022 in doubt, and Jackson is 32 and a low priority, though he played a ton in 2021. (This doesn’t factor in Malik McDowell, an exclusive-rights free agent who was good while wearing a Browns uniform last season. Alas he wasn’t wearing anything while allegedly attacking a police officer in Florida in January, and his future is uncertain, to put it mildly.)

For years Njoku has been a player crying out for a change of scenery to maximize his gifts. It looked like this would be his chance, but the Browns surprisingly used the franchise tag on him. Higgins, by contrast, chose to return on a one-year deal and wound up phased out of the passing game. He gone. Harrison, Smith, and Walker could get squeezed out by younger competition, though any could return on short deals.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Biggest Need: Quarterback

Farewell and amen, Big Ben.

After nearly two decades of stellar play at the sport’s most important position, Pittsburgh finds itself in terra incognita. While Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t been very good the last two seasons (24th in DYAR in 2021), at least the team knew what they had. At the moment, the rostered quarterbacks are Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins. That promises to be a competition at least as gripping as the D3 collegiate cornhole quarterfinals, and it is hard to believe the team won’t try and upgrade—to a degree, anyway.

While the fantasy of an Aaron Rodgers or a Russell Wilson wearing black-and-gold feeds the content mills, it is much more likely the team opts for a next-tier type, a James Winston or a Marcus Mariota, someone who is an improvement on Rudolph but won’t affect the team’s ability to go after a long-term answer in the spring of 2023.

A similar mindset may well hover over the draft. The Steelers had the 24th-ranked DVOA (and the 25th-ranked offense) but scraped their way into the playoffs regardless, finishing in the 20th draft slot. Had this been a draft with prime quarterback prospects, that would be an issue, but the likes of Kenny Pickett (Pitt) and Matt Corral (Ole Miss) and perhaps Malik Willis (Liberty) should be around for the Steelers to contemplate drafting. But it is a definite possibility that Pittsburgh—still to name a replacement for outgoing general manager Kevin Colbert—will look to the 2023 draft, when the likes of Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud should be available, and tread water for a year. They probably will draft a passer, but in this scenario it would be on Day 2 or 3.

Major Free Agents: Joe Haden (CB), JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR), Eric Ebron (TE), Trai Turner (OG), Terrell Edmunds (S), James Washington (WR), Chukwuma Okorafor (OT), Montravius Adams (DT), Ray-Ray McCloud (WR/PR), Miles Killebrew (LB), Ahkello Witherspoon (CB)

The Steelers missed Smith-Schuster when he got hurt last season, but the sense is the TikTok TimeBomb is likely to leave, perhaps to go home to Los Angeles. Otherwise, there are no free agents the team is desperate to keep, save perhaps Haden, who at 32 could be enticed to stick around on a one-year deal.