Fortunately for the Cincinnati Bengals, there are not many holes to fill on the current roster. In fact, after the draft, the Bengals should have their starters almost set in stone for 2013. However, there are some missing pieces that could be added to improve depth or provide positional battles in camp.
While looking at the Bengals' roster, there are some noticeable voids at certain positions behind the incumbent starter. There are plenty of positions that have very young, inexperienced players as the initial backup.
This could provide some nasty problems if the Bengals are hit by the injury bug in 2013.
Rationally speaking, these positions should be filled by low-cost veterans that could provide more stability if needed to step into the lineup. There are not many of these instances on the Bengals' roster, but some should still be addressed.
Let's take a look a five missing pieces that Cincinnati could still add to address needs at a reasonable price. After all, the Bengals are still in very good shape at $21.9 million under the salary cap (via Spotrac.com).
Chris Pressley is a serviceable fullback, but that is really where you draw the line with him. He is not terrible in any aspect of his game, but he does not shine in one particular category either.
In 2012, Pressley was ranked 19th out of 25 eligible fullbacks in the league (via Pro Football Focus, subscription required). He received negative grades in every statistical category.
Pressley is not the kind of fullback that fits in a West Coast offense. He is not a reliable receiver, and with the addition of a faster running back in Giovani Bernard, he may not be able to keep pace as a lead blocker.
To make matters worse for Pressley, he is coming off of a season-ending knee injury suffered late in the 2012 season. There will be no telling if he is full-go until the team puts the pads back on.
At the very least, the Bengals should bring in another fullback to compete in camp alongside Pressley. Yes, John Conner is still around, but he was brought in as more of a band-aid during Pressley's absence.
Bringing in a veteran such as former Buffalo Bills fullback Corey McIntyre could be very beneficial for the Bengals at this juncture.
McIntyre has more speed, athleticism and agility than Pressley and can be a receiver out of the backfield when asked. He only played 103 snaps in 2012 but was given positive grades across the board by Pro Football Focus in that span (subscription required).
The Bengals have some great starting cornerbacks returning for the 2013 season. Incumbent starter Leon Hall will top the position, followed by Terence Newman and Adam Jones.
In the mix will also be last year's first-round draft pick Dre Kirkpatrick.
Kirkpatrick has said earlier this offseason that he wants to start in 2013. He wants to make his way up the depth chart and become the complementary corner to Hall.
However, that will be tough sledding for him, as he is not game-tested yet and still has lots of learning to do at the NFL level.
After Kirkpatrick are very inexperienced corners Brandon Ghee and Shaun Prater. Neither of these players have seen active playing time in the NFL's regular season.
This means that the position could severely suffer if one of the top three starters would be unable to perform. The Bengals should be enticed to bring in a veteran cornerback that would be able to step in and contribute in a pinch.
By signing a veteran corner at a low cost, the Bengals are afforded a low-risk, high-reward payoff. If the younger guys show up at camp and impress coaches, the free-agent veteran would be cut with minimal loss to the team.
Bringing in former Cleveland Browns cornerback Sheldon Brown could be a great fit here. He is coming off of a solid season where he ranked 21st out of 113 eligible cornerbacks (Hall ranked 25th) on Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Brown is entering his 12th season in the NFL and clearly has plenty left in the tank. Signing him to a one-year contract could be very beneficial for both parties.
The strong safety position has been one of the Bengals' most glaring weaknesses for the past several seasons. The team has attempted to place many different types of players there with little or no success.
Currently, the roster battle for this position would be between Taylor Mays, Jeromy Miles and rookie Shawn Williams.
Mays and Miles have tried—and failed—to fill this position and may never be NFL ready. Williams is a rookie, and although he has great upside, he still needs to develop.
Bringing in a solid veteran safety to compete for the starting job would be a great move by the Bengals here.
The veteran would not only help Williams to develop into a starting-caliber NFL safety but would also be able to push Mays and Miles to get better.
This move seems like an absolute no brainer.
One nice veteran free-agent fit for the Bengals is former Arizona Cardinals safety Kerry Rhodes.
Rhodes excels in coverage and does not hesitate to help in run support. He is a very versatile safety and could allow free safety Reggie Nelson more freedom at his position.
Pro Football Focus ranked Rhodes the fourth-best safety in the NFL last year (subscription required). His only negative grade came from rushing the passer—something that he is not regularly asked to do.
He would demand a higher contract, but given the opportunity to start could allow Williams to develop his coverage skills while he learns the position.
This seems like a perfect match for what Rhodes and the Bengals should be looking for.
The center position is, without a doubt, the weakest link on the Bengals offensive line.
Last season, three centers started for the Bengals. The highest graded center by Pro Football Focus was rookie Trevor Robinson, who ranked 26th out of 36 eligible centers (subscription required).
That is not a good stat if you are Andy Dalton.
After being sacked 46 times in 2012, Dalton needs better protection for blitzes up the middle. Dalton's NFL quarterback rating without pressure averages to a 93.4. While he is pressured, it drops to a meager 47.3 according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
These numbers should be convincing enough to upgrade any offensive line position possible before training camp gets underway.
With Robinson and Kyle Cook on board, as well as developmental rookie T.J. Johnson, Cincinnati does not have much in its arsenal at the center position.
A player such as former Kansas City Chiefs center Ryan Lilja would fit in nicely here.
Lilja brings a great amount of experience to the roster as well as a stronger force while run blocking. Lilja is not a great improvement in pass protection but is a better option than any center currently on the roster.
Allowing Lilja to come in and compete for the center position could do wonders for the rest of the positional group. Each player would continue to improve during a fierce competition in training camp.
Regardless of who comes out as the Week 1 starter, each player will significantly improve.
There were not too many frowns on the faces of Bengals fans when it was announced that Rey Maualuga had been re-signed to the team. Those frowns grew even longer after head coach Marvin Lewis said that he would like Maualuga to continue to start as the middle linebacker.
Maualuga ranks 53rd overall—that's dead last—in the Pro Football Focus middle linebacker rankings (subscription required).
To make matters worse for Cincinnati, backup Dan Skuta was lost in free agency to the San Francisco 49ers. Also, the signing of James Harrison on the strong side keeps Vontaze Burfict on the weak side. This means that Maualuga's current backup is J.K. Schaffer.
No, that's not good.
The Bengals need to address the issue of bringing in another linebacker with experience in the middle. This player should also be a veteran with the ability to lead. The player should still be able to contribute consistently—he may need to due to Maualuga's injury history.
So, who do the Bengals bring in here?
This makes for a tough decision because certain players such as Karlos Dansby will be too expensive to sign at this point. The Bengals need a perfect balance of affordability and consistency.
A great fit here would be former Houston Texans middle linebacker Bradie James.
James is entering his 11th NFL season after coming off of a one-year deal with the Texans. He made $825,000 in base salary during that span. This is a perfect scenario for Cincinnati.
The Bengals can bring in James on a one-year deal with similar terms and have a very valuable piece in place as a backup middle linebacker.
James is still able to contribute as well. He ranked 29th overall last season out of all middle linebackers and received positive grades in coverage and run defense by Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
If the Bengals can find a way to make this happen, they will add some much-needed experience to their linebacker corps this year and allow fans to breathe a little easier.
The Cincinnati Bengals have made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, but the team is still searching for their first playoff win since 1990.
In an effort to take that next step, the Bengals spent their first two draft picks on offensive skill positions in 2013, first selecting Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert before making North Carolina's Giovani Bernard the first running back selected in the second round.
At first glance, the Bernard pick may have struck some as odd. After all, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who joined the Bengals in free agency a year ago, topped 1,000 yards on the ground in 2012, and at only 27, the "Law Firm" is in the prime of his career.
However, there's plenty of reasons to like the Bernard pick if you're a Bengals fan, as the youngster could add an entirely new dimension to the Cincinnati offense.
With all due respect to Green-Ellis, he's the very definition of a plodder. Green-Ellis is a bruising, between-the-tackles, "three yards and a cloud of dust" type, and while he did top 1,000 yards in 2012, Green-Ellis also averaged less than four yards a carry doing it.
The 5'8", 202-pound Bernard, on the other hand, is a much different animal in the backfield. Bernard is a smaller, quicker back who relies on his agility and quickness to generate yardage. Bernard is also a very dangerous receiver, as evidenced by his 92 receptions over the past two years at North Carolina.
It's a classic "thunder and lightning" backfield scenario.
This isn't to say that Bernard is guaranteed a prominent role in the Cincinnati offense; offensive coordinator Jay Gruden told Geoff Hobson of the team's website that Bernard will compete with fellow rookie Rex Burkhead for the third-down role with the Bengals, although he also lauded the skill set that Bernard brings to the Queen City. However, in my opinion it's in Gruden's (and the team's) best interests to look at Giovani Bernard as more than "just" a third-down back.
For a blueprint on how Gruden could look to best utilize the two ball-carriers, he need look no further than the New York Giants teams of a few years back.
In both 2007 and 2008, the Giants had a very similar situation in the backfield, with Brandon Jacobs in the Green-Ellis role and Derrick Ward playing the part of Giovani Bernard.
Jacobs was the lead back, the hammer who picked up tough yards and wore down defenses. Ward served as the change-of-pace back and a receiver out of the backfield.
It was a carry-share that worked well for the Giants. In 2007, the Giants ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing and won the Super Bowl. In 2008, the team gained over 157 yards a game on the ground—tops in the NFL—and won 12 games en route to a division title.
Ward was much more than just a third-down back for those teams; he topped 150 total touches in 2007, and that number grew to over 220 in 2008, when Ward also chipped in over 40 catches.
By the 2009 season, the roles began to reverse, as Jacobs' production declined and Ahmad Bradshaw began to assert himself as the lead back in the Big Apple.
Gruden and the Bengals should adopt a similar course of action with Bernard and Green-Eillis.
In the early-going as Bernard acclimates to the NFL, it's Green-Ellis who should receive the majority of the carries. Then, assuming that Bernard begins to perform as advertised, increase his workload until the Bengals are running almost an even split in the backfield.
Thunder and lightning. The bull and the ballerina (not the best metaphor, but I'm trying to alliterate here!).
Giovani Bernard might not have the frame to withstand 300-plus carries a season, but 225 or so is well within reason. That's going to both cut down on the punishment that Green-Ellis takes and also open up a Cincinnati offense that has grown a tad too predictable.
The Bengals need to do a better job of keeping opposing defenses honest instead of allowing them to load the box against Green-Ellis and then blanket A.J. Green in coverage on third down.
Bernard's ability to hurt defenses as a pass-catcher could do just that, whereas a fresh Green-Ellis would be a very nice option as a "closer" blasting away at tired defenses.
Never mind that using two viable backs properly could allow the Bengals to dominate time of possession. It may be an antiquated notion, but the fact remains that your opponent can't score if they don't have the ball.
This isn't meant as a knock on Green-Ellis, but to be frank, he is what he is: a very good (but not great) bulldozer of a running back. He can move the sticks, but he does it in one manner and one manner only.
Bernard is a much more versatile weapon. I'll freely admit that I felt headed into the draft he was the top player at his position available in this year's class, and I like the pick for the Bengals.
Now, it's just a matter of using him properly.
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