National Football League

How Cincinnati Bengals fixed their biggest weakness

Published Mar. 25, 2022 4:27 p.m. ET

By Geoff Schwartz
FOX Sports NFL Analyst

The most difficult unit in football to build is the offensive line because of the quantity of serviceable players needed to be successful. As a result, it’s often not about stacking the unit with All-Pros, but rather filling the line with players who won’t lose you a game.

Teams can build their offensive lines a few different ways. First is primarily through the draft, like the Dallas Cowboys have done, but that takes time, patience and the ability to draft and develop.

Teams can also build with a mixture of additions via free agency, trades and the draft, like the Kansas City Chiefs did during the 2021 offseason. A couple additions via free agency or trades, plus a couple draft picks, and boom, a team can boast a top offensive line in the NFL.

The third option is to buy an offensive line, which can be expensive but can provide a small window in which to win. If done correctly, this option can be valuable as well.

The AFC champion Bengals chose option three — without breaking the bank. Let's take a look at how they did it.

Cincinnati's offseason priority list was the simplest in all of football: Improve the offensive line. The Bengals' line was horrendous last season and cost them a shot to win the Super Bowl, just like Kansas City's line cost the Chiefs in the previous Super Bowl.

And just like the Chiefs did last offseason, the Bengals went heavy into fixing the offensive line in the beginning stages of free agency.

Cincinnati needed to address four positions from its starting unit in the Super Bowl: both guards, center and right tackle. One of the guard positions could be filled by 2021 second-round pick Jackson Carman. He was up and down as a rookie, but Cincinnati invested that high pick in him, so he has to play. That left the Bengals with three spots to address, and they did just that.

When free agency officially opened, the Bengals went to work.

They signed Buccaneers guard Alex Cappa to a four-year, $35 million deal ($11 million guaranteed) to man left guard. Cappa has improved each season in the NFL, the sign of a lineman who understands how to train, study and improve his technique. He’s a slightly better run blocker than pass protector.

However, he allowed only 35 total pressures in 896 snaps during the 2021 season, a huge upgrade over the Bengals' interior linemen from 2021. Cappa finished the season ranked 15th by Pro Football Focus for the guard position. The highest Bengals guard finished 34th in PFF's rankings.

Cincinnati also signed former Patriots center/guard Ted Karras for three years and $18 million ($5 million guaranteed) to play center. Karras is a two-time Super Bowl champion who took over full-time starting duties with New England in 2019. He’s a versatile player who can man either guard position, but Karras will play center for the Bengals.

Karras is a far better pass protector than run blocker, which is what the Bengals need most. He was ranked sixth by Pro Football Focus for his play last season, with a majority of his snaps at left guard. Karras allowed only 11 pressures on 425 pass protection snaps, and he will be a vital leader for this offensive line from his center position.

I am curious to see both of these players in a more pass-heavy offense that features empty protections and a quarterback who is not Tom Brady. Their ability to pass protect will be tested, but for what the Bengals paid for these two guys, the deals are a tremendous upgrade over what Cincinnati started with last season.

The cherry on top of the Bengals' offensive line haul is the signing of former Cowboys right tackle La’el Collins for three years and $21 million ($5 million guaranteed). It’s my favorite offensive line signing of this 2022 free agency period.

First and foremost, Collins is an enforcer and protector. If an opponent messes with Joe Burrow, Collins will make him pay for it. That attitude is infectious throughout the offensive line unit and will set the tone for more physical play.

Collins is uber-athletic and is able to explode off the ball to inflict damage in the run game, whether at the line of scrimmage or at the second level.

In 2019 and 2021 — he missed 2020 due to injury — he was ranked as the third-best run-blocking offensive tackle. His pass protection isn’t far behind, as he has allowed only four sacks and 46 total pressures over 1,041 pass-protection snaps during his past two full seasons.

The Bengals managed to add all three of these players, clear upgrades at each position, for a relatively low cost, which is a benefit for their continued team-building. The Bengals had a clear goal, and they made their team better.

As a result, they have to be considered a true option to repeat as AFC champions.

Geoff Schwartz played eight seasons in the NFL for five different teams. He started at right tackle for the University of Oregon for three seasons and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection his senior year. He is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @GeoffSchwartz.