Who is the best target for the Bengals?
By: Jake Rajala
The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t take the foot off the gas pedal this off-season — as they brought in numerous stud offensive linemen (La’el Collins, Alex Cappa) for their offense featuring an unearthly QB-WR duo. It wouldn’t be a complete surprise if the desperate Super Bowl aimed squad carrying a modest $15 million in cap space added one or two more horses in free agency. With that enunciated, I’m going to untwine three dream targets for the Bengals right now.
Ndamukong Suh
The Raiders have been rumored to be a landing spot for the fearless Ndamukong Suh. I believe he should feel more intrigued about joining the reigning Super Bowl champions. He could play next to Trey Hendrickson while having a strong chance of winning his second Super Bowl ring. If Cincy doesn’t make a poetic reunion with Geno Atkins, perhaps they will swing big for the former Bucs DT that hasn’t lost a step in recent memory (12 sacks in the past two seasons combined).
Chris Harris Jr.
The free-agent CB Chris Harris Jr. may be the cherry on top for the Bengals defense. I believe it was an underrated move to bring back Eli Apple, but the Bengals still don’t carry a strong overall CB group. He could be a potential upgrade over Apple or a strong CB3. The talented slot corner Harris Jr. would have likely helped cover the slot machine Cooper Kupp in Super Bowl LVI, to say the least.
Xavier Rhodes
The CB free agent pool doesn’t showcase talent like Stephon Gilmore, but there are still modest, physical CBs that can help the Bengals defense. Xavier Rhodes could certainly be a bully for the Bengals defense on the outside. Rhodes and Apple both have very similar skill sets, but Rhodes (31) is five years older than Apple (26). Rhodes was a Top-10 CB per PFF in 2020, but he wasn’t quite as potent in 2021. Nonetheless, he would help the Bengals questionable CB group become more sturdy moving forward.
