Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has slipped back into a toxic relationship we hoped was over for good. Yet, after all of the heartbreak, QB hits, and misery that came with it before, he decided to return, much to the chagrin of everyone involved.
This time around, it appears this offseason’s offensive tweak of placing his quarterbacks under center — a rough work in progress as of the preseason opener — is a Trojan horse to bring back one of Taylor's beloved blocking schemes.
One issue that plagued the Bengals' head coach and play-caller early in his tenure was his baffling insistence on having tight ends blocking defensive ends one-on-one.
Taylor seemed to have given up on that idea as a key component of his offensive identity. Alas, as a sequel or prequel to a movie that bombed the first time around and no one asked for, it’s back.
Taylor needs an intervention
In Thursday night’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions, Taylor unveiled his offseason master plan to the masses: taking more snaps from under center. And the results were predictable, according to all of the reports coming out of training camp thus far.
At this point in training camp and the preseason, insisting on putting Joe Burrow under center isn't yielding the results one would expect, given all the outside noise aimed at pushing for it.
Ahmed got 'em! pic.twitter.com/qLYfqIXgVr
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 13, 2026
Nevertheless, that should not come with Zac Taylor falling off the wagon and reaching for his unhelpful companion of blocking defensive ends one-on-one with tight ends. But if the latter follows the former, the coaches must find a way to mitigate the inevitable negative consequences.
Prepare accordingly for more Drew Sample
The fact that people still think of Drew Sample as anything more than a “blocking tight end” is a bit jarring. Has he improved in that area? Absolutely. But just because the Bengals drafted him in the second round and someone, somewhere, said out loud that he was an excellent blocker while at Washington does not make it true.
Who are we kidding? The number of people who claim to watch college film but do not, and speak with authority as if they do, is astounding.
During Taylor’s tenure, we’ve watched the film on draft-eligible tight ends through the lens of what their pass-blocking capabilities could bring to his offensive scheme. Not who will put up the most receiving yards or fantasy points, but who could stand a chance against defensive ends if Taylor kept persisting in going that route.
That’s how we often fell on players such as Darnell Washington, Jake Ferguson, or even Tanner McLachlan as suitable draft options.
Perhaps Sample is the team's best blocking tight end. But that speaks to an organization's lack of preparedness to provide the resources coaches need. Some teams rely heavily on their tight ends blocking edge rushers one-on-one. However, they have the personnel to do so. The Bengals roster isn't up to par in that category.
If going under center was a point of emphasis this offseason, which it clearly was, then the coaching staff should have immediately realized it meant more tight ends left on islands against pass rushers.
However, after watching Jack Endries at Texas, there is hope that he could prove valuable in that regard. Yes, seventh-round rookie Jack Endries.
Pass blocking tight ends shouldn't be the Bengals' priority
Sometimes we should espouse the philosophy of running before we can walk. This is not one of those times.
Before the team should confidently and naively count on tight ends to pass block against edge rushers, perhaps it would be a good idea for the starting offensive linemen to show that in a preseason game against an opponent that did not play their defensive starters, they can hold up in pass protection against the second-string rushers. Orlando Brown Jr. got beat badly by undrafted Lions rookie Eric O'Neill and got Burrow absolutely smoked in the pocket.
Asking the tight ends on the team to do an offensive lineman’s job that some of them are struggling to execute themselves consistently may not be the most prudent plan with Burrow under center, even in the preseason.
Zac's habit is clearly hard habit to break
We know how difficult it will be for Zac Taylor to give up the ghost on this once he returns to it as a staple of his offense.
Lest you forget, when it got to the point where even he could not rely on the position group as pass blockers, he designed plays that had former first-round pick, wide receiver John Ross, as part of a pass-blocking double team alongside tight ends.
The 2026 version would be Andrei Iosivas helping Tanner Hudson in pass protection. But at least Iosivas is bigger than 5’10 and 175 pounds.
When it comes to moving the QB under center more to create something that is missing on offense, such as explosive plays, if you like it, we love it. But what Taylor hopefully won’t fall in love with, again, is keeping tight ends in to pass-block against defensive ends.
Add us as a preferred source on Google