8 easiest roster decisions for Cincinnati Bengals in 2022 offseason

3. Draft OL Early

Sticking with the offensive line, the Bengals have to go after an offensive lineman early on in the 2022 NFL Draft.

While they won’t have a top-five pick this year and are picking the latest they have in quite some time, there’s still plenty of talent for them to zero in on when they’re on the clock at pick No. 31.

As far as offensive tackles go, the Bengals should be able to land names such as Nicholas Petit-Frere, Daniel Faalele, or Bernhard Raimann in the first round. If they end up signing Armstead and decide to go with an interior lineman instead, Zion Johnson is a name to start getting familiar with.

Those are just names to monitor for the first round.

If Cincy adds Armstead and maybe another option or two in free agency, they might be able to wait until the second or third round to take an o-lineman.

Even if they do heavily address the offensive line in free agency, I’d still like to see the stripes spend an early-round pick on the unit. Injuries happen and that’s when having strong depth comes into play.

2. Re-sign Jessie Bates

After putting together the worst regular season of his career, Jessie Bates turned into the Jessie Bates of old when it mattered the most.

Throughout the playoffs, Bates was nails. He had an interception in both the Super Bowl and the divisional round and recorded at least four tackles in all four games. He also had at least one defended pass in every game as well.

Fans were starting to maybe think that re-signing Bates wasn’t a good idea but then he turned into the Bates we all know and love and that essentially sealed it. Cincinnati has to do the right thing here and keep Bates in the black and orange moving forward. He’s earned it.