Weapons in Bengals' reach this offseason that'd make offense unstoppable

The Cincinnati Bengals could keep sinking all their 2026 NFL Draft capital into players who might pay off in the future. Or, they could double-middle-fingers the rest of the league, go nuclear in free agency to address their biggest needs, and stock up on offense in this rookie class.

This incoming draft class is loaded with front seven studs at the top, whom the Bengals are in danger of missing out on. They probably don't like *all* of those prospects, either.

So what the heck? Why not let it rip on offense, where Joe Burrow alone can elevate and cultivate a true blue-chip talent?

...Or might there be room in free agency to add a whole different kind of offensive weapon to Cincinnati's Super Bowl-aspirant equation?

In all of the following scenarios, here are the ancillary moves and free-agent signings the Bengals make on defense to enable them to chase greatness on offense. Year 1 contract amounts are in parentheses for free agents; savings in parentheses for cut players.

• Restructure Joe Burrow's contract (saves $19.2 million, per OverTheCap.com)
• Re-sign RG Dalton Risner ($6M), QB Jake Browning ($3.45M RFA tender), NB Jalen Davis ($3M), OL Lucas Patrick ($1.3M)
• Acquired in free agency: LB Devin Lloyd ($18M), S Bryan Cook ($14M), DL John Franklin-Myers ($12M), EDGE Boye Mafe ($9M), DT D.J. Reader ($7M)
• Released: DT T.J. Slaton ($6.4M), OL Cody Ford ($2.9M), TE Drew Sample ($2.85M)
• 2026 salary cap space remaining: $15.48 million

Jeremiyah Love shoots Bengals' offense to another stratosphere

Hot take: Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is the best player in the 2026 NFL Draft. Positional value this, Fernando Mendoza that. No. I will not hear it. Love is RB1 and Big Board No. 1.

It'd take something special for the Bengals to move up high enough and score the rights to Love. Both the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans could use a feature back. Trading a 2027 first-round pick should get the job done.

You might be saying, "That's madness!" to trade such a premium asset for a running back, especially since Cincinnati already has Chase Brown. Right?

Well for one, Brown isn't guaranteed to stay in a Bengals uniform beyond 2026. If he does, though, he'd join Love as the greatest backfield tandem in the NFL. Secondly, I ask ye, Who Dey Nation — does this interest you at all?

I'm telling y'all. There's a good chance Cincinnati misses out on all the blue-chip defensive prospects with the 10th pick. Trading up for one of them is cool, but drafting defense hasn't paid off much at all of late.

Why not fill most or all of the holes in free agency, and muscle your way into the top three or four for the best pure player in Love? A Love-Brown rushing attack might be the best protection for Joe Burrow that draft capital can buy.

Makai Lemon is the surefire slot WR3 the Bengals have longed for

The top of the draft should see a run of premier defensive players. It just so happens that there are a few elite wide receiver prospects in Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson, Ohio State's Carnell Tate, and USC's Makai Lemon.

But Tyson and Tate are more perimeter wideouts, whereas Lemon is at his best in the slot. That's precisely what the Bengals need, since they have Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the outside.

This might be viewed as a luxury pick. However, think about how often Tee gets banged up, and how different the offense looks without him. It's not anywhere near as good. Part of that is a lack of firepower at the WR3 spot.

Lemon is a tremendous route-runner. Ready to hit the ground running in the NFL. Regardless of position, the Bengals have struggled to find immediate-impact players in the draft the last four years. The upgrade from Andrei Iosivas to Lemon would be incalculable.

Tyler Linderbaum is a free-agent stunner who'd sting an AFC North rival

The Baltimore Ravens are likely to let Tyler Linderbaum sign elsewhere this offseason. He's one of the elite centers in the sport and was that way ever since Baltimore drafted him in the first round back in 2022.

Despite Linderbaum's high level of play, the Ravens didn't pick up the fifth-year option on his contract. He wants to remain in Baltimore, yet it remains to be seen if the team wants him.

Yo Tyler, how about blocking for Joe Burrow for the next phase of your career? Sound good?

Although Cincinnati incumbent Ted Karras is under contract for one more season, releasing him would save yet another $4 million. That'd free up enough space to chase down Linderbaum on the open market.

Linderbaum is an immediate upgrade from Karras, and a big-picture investment at the critical position of snapping the ball to Burrow as well.

I consider Linderbaum to be a weapon because he wounds the archnemesis Ravens. And also because, as Jim Harbaugh once put it, the offensive line is the tip of the spear:

"I know the question is going to come up, 'What about a weapon?' Offensive linemen, we look at as weapons...That group, when we talk about attacking on offense, the offensive line is the tip of the spear."

If Harbaugh considers offensive linemen weapons, well, I'm gonna run with that to justify my inclusion of Linderbaum in this piece. The Chargers passed up the chance to draft receiver Malik Nabers in favor of offensive tackle Joe Alt. Doesn't look like a bad decision at all in retrospect.

Anyway, words don't to justice to how awesome it'd be to witness the Bengals push right up to the limit of their 2026 salary cap in an effort to explode past the competition in the AFC.

All I can do is try to will it into existence on the Internet. Ball's in the courts of Mike Brown, the Blackburns, and Duke Tobin to do something about it. They may not believe it's possible to be so aggressive. This article is proof positive that it is. The math is mathing.

More Bengals News and Analysis