7 newcomers projected to be starters for the Bengals in 2021

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Chidobe Awuzie, Cincinnati Bengals (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Bengals newcomers projected to be starters – No. 4: Chidobe Awuzie

The Bengals focused on improving their secondary over the offseason and one such example of that was the signing of Chidobe Awuzie. Previously, Awuzie played for the Cowboys for four years after Dallas selected him in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Awuzie has been very up and down throughout the course of his career and that’s scary for Bengals fans. This secondary has to be better if the Bengals want to compete this year and that’s why Cincinnati went to work in adding new faces and completely revamping this group.

Awuzie’s best year came in 2019 when he graded out at 72.2 by Pro Football Focus. The next year, however, was Awuzie’s worst, as he finished the season with a PFF grade of 51.9. Oof.

Injuries derailed Awuzie’s 2020 season and Bengals fans are hoping that now that he’s healthy, he’ll be more like the 2019 version. Even with the rollercoaster career to this point, Awuzie is going to start in the secondary.