Did Cincinnati do enough to protect Burrow?
The Cincinnati Bengals are gearing up to get back into postseason play as the 2025 NFL season is a few months away.
The Bengals entered the offseason with quite a few roster holes, including offensive line, specifically guard.
Cincinnati’s offensive line has not been stellar since drafting Joe Burrow, but the franchise has made a few moves over the year to improve the unit somewhat.
The Bengals cut Alex Cappa, brought in Lucas Patrick, and drafted two guys in Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers.
As of right now, the starting offensive line is likely set outside of the left guard position.
But did the Bengals do enough to truly protect Joe Burrow?
Pro Football Focus surely doesn’t think so…
Cincinnati’s offensive line was tabbed as the weakest position group after free agency and the NFL Draft.
“The Bengals ranked 29th in both PFF pass-blocking grade and PFF run-blocking grade last season, and it doesn’t appear that they will fare much better in 2025. Center Ted Karras is the only returning player from last season who earned at least a 60.0 PFF overall grade. Left tackle Amarius Mims underwhelmed in his rookie season. The lowest-graded guard unit in football added only third-round pick Dylan Fairchild and veteran Lucas Patrick, who earned a 64.6 PFF grade in New Orleans in 2024,” PFF wrote.
The Bengals still have a few free agents available like Brandon Scherff and Dalton Risner to bring in some much-needed veteran help up front, but will they? Highly unlikely.