The Cincinnati Bengals offensive line is still considered one of the worst in the league.
The Bengals had a choice to make at the beginning of the 2021 NFL Draft — Do they go with ultra-talented wide receiver, Ja’Marr Chase, to pair with Joe Burrow, or do they look for some protection for the franchise quarterback and bring in the best lineman prospect in the last few years, Penei Sewell?
The choice, as we know, was made to draft the wide receiver and rely on the additions made in free agency to improve the line (signing Riley Reiff to be the right tackle).
The issue with this line of thinking is that the moves made during the offseason were small when looking at the offensive line. Most of the same cast will be returning and this was a unit that graded as the third-worst in the NFL last season. The rest of the offense looks really promising, but the lack of talent in the line could end up slowing down the whole offense.
The Bengals will need the offensive line to step up in a big way if they have any hope of competing in the AFC North. The problem is, there is not a whole lot of optimism around the unit improving.