The Cincinnati Bengals enter Friday's preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles with much of their core roster decided. However, there are several position battles that'll be worth monitoring. Some of them could eventually be fortified on the waiver wire, too.
Coming into the offseason, the depth on the defensive line, at wide receiver, and at cornerback were all major question marks. Thanks to an unusual, aggressive streak and some lobbying from Joe Burrow, the oft-conservative owner Mike Brown spent big to go all-in for a Super Bowl. For once.
And now, this preseason closer is more about wanting to be pleasantly surprised by certain roster bubble guys, rather than looking to them in desperation as a potential solution to the aforementioned positional concerns.
Dohnte Meyers' ascent puts major pressure on Charlie Jones
Not to downplay the fact that Charlie Jones has a punt return and two kickoff return TDs in three NFL seasons, but on this 2026 Bengals team, that can't be all he contributes.
I will not stand for a return man only guy on the roster. Dohnte Meyers has blown past Jones as a wide receiver, and the latter really needs to show something to justify even beating out Mitchell Tinsley as the WR6.
Jones is a good enough athlete and was very productive in his final college season at Purdue, racking up 110 receptions for 1,361 yards and 12 TDs. That's never translated to the NFL level for reasons that honestly kind of elude me.
In the latest evidence that preseason depth charts are liars — Drew Sample's beyond-reproach TE1 status notwithstanding — Jones was listed ahead of Ke'Shawn Williams and Meyers on the last official team update. However, Williams is in the running at both return spots, and Meyers is No. 2 on the punt returner depth chart behind Chuckie J.
Safe to say Jones needs to show a lot in the last week of the preseason to have a prayer of making the roster.
Josh Newton must continue his playmaking trend to lock down a roster spot
Dax Hill's training camp injury could've been a major opportunity for Josh Newton. Instead, he's had to dig his way out of the coaching staff's doghouse while rookie third-round pick Tacario Davis and D.J. Ivey have been more trusted to pick up the slack in Hill's absence.
About a week ago, Newton had an excellent practice that caught Bengals radio voice Dan Hoard's attention, with two denials on end zone fades, an interception off Joe Flacco, and another pass breakup. Hoard captured what Newton had to say about his performance:
"Especially my last few practices for sure...I’ve been honing in on the technical stuff and doing a lot of little things right. It’s led me to a day like today."
The key for Newton is consistency. He might have to earn his way back onto the active roster from the practice squad at this point.
While his coverage chops are pretty strong, Newton still struggles with tackling. That's a hard flaw to overcome, especially with how much of an issue that was on the Bengals' woeful 2025 defense.
Could Howard Cross crash the party in the Bengals' loaded defensive line room?
With another standout performance against the Eagles, yes, Howard Cross does have at least an outside chance to make the 53-man roster.
Cross showed enough juice as an undrafted rookie last year to initially score a roster spot. Despite the stiff competition, he has prior ties to Cincinnati defensive coordinator Al Golden from their shared time at Notre Dame.
One of the biggest plays in the Bears preseason game came when Cross batted down a Caleb Williams pass at the line of scrimmage. It showed that Cross can be disruptive when facing top competition, and it was an encouraging sign that he hasn't given up, even if he's a bit of a forgotten man in the rotation at this point.
I assumed Landon Robinson would be more of a pure 3-technique, yet he's proven he can line up at nose tackle. Cross has a clear niche as an inside pass rusher, which could lead to the Bengals cutting both their 2024 Day 2 picks at defensive tackle in Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson.
All that said, Cross needs to be indubitably dominant versus Philadelphia to inch past players with the draft status Jenkins and Jackson boast.
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