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As a dramatically rebuilding team over the last couple of years, the Cincinnati Bengals have experienced a ton of turnover.
Said turnover should continue, albeit at a lesser extent if the rebuilding plan starts showing up in the win column.
But who are the players that stand as foundational building blocks that won’t move — instead, they’re the nucleus of the plan?
Joe Burrow comes to mind first. Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus added two more names to the list when asked to outline three:
“He and Chase, the fifth-overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, are the two most logical pieces to build around on offense. That duo combined for 14.7 yards per attempt and a 141.3 passer rating in LSU’s 2019 championship season.
Bates is one of the league’s best free safeties, fresh off a 90.1 PFF grade last season. He’s the star of a secondary that Cincinnati has worked to rebuild in free agency the past few seasons.”
Hard to argue there. The Bengals have a potential best-in-league quarterback and safety. We could throw Chase in there for consideration at his position too, though it would feel premature before he even takes a snap.
It’s also interesting to think about guys who could have just missed the cut for this. If Jonah Williams pans out at left tackle, he’s a core piece of the foundation. So is a weapon like Tee Higgins and defenders like D.J. Reader and Logan Wilson.
But Burrow, Bates and Chase? That’s an encouraging future worth highlighting, to say the least.
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