Bengals Free Agency: Steven Nelson could make sense in Cincinnati
While Bengals free agency has seen the team heavily address the offensive line, the team could still use a cornerback for their secondary. Steven Nelson makes a lot of sense for them in that department.
According to Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report, the Bengals are a good fit for Nelson, who he considers to be one of the most underrated free-agent options.
Ballentine wrote:
"After a rocky season made him a cap casualty in Pittsburgh, Nelson’s play did not get better last year with Philadelphia. He’s yielded 12 touchdowns and over 1,300 yards in his last two campaigns.He’s capable of playing much better, though. In his first season in Pittsburgh, he was lights-out, giving up no touchdowns and a passer rating of 65.8 when targeted while playing 99 percent of the defensive snaps.He’s also only 29. It’s well-worth the gamble to give him a one-year deal, as he can still be a No. 2 outside corner and might return to peak form.The Bengals should be looking into signing Nelson. His PFF grade was actually one point higher than the 60.5 starter Eli Apple posted last season."
Bengals Free Agency: Steven Nelson needs to be on team’s radar
The Bengals are fortunate to have Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton returning in 2022 and they also re-signed Eli Apple. They can’t stop with those three, however, and Nelson could be a nice piece in the secondary.
As Ballentine mentioned, Nelson hasn’t been great the past two years, but there’s room for improvement. He’s still young and has shown that he can be a talented cornerback in the NFL. He also had a better season, at least according to PFF, than Apple did.
While signing Nelson wouldn’t prevent the team from also exploring adding a cornerback in free agency, he’d give them added depth at a position of need. This signing might not excite the fans in the same way if they brought in Stephon Gilmore but it’s a start.
The fact of the matter is that the Cincinnati Bengals need help at cornerback and Steven Nelson presents an intriguing option for them moving forward. He could be had for cheap and that’s another reason he’d make sense for the stripes.
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