As a lead-up to the 2024 NFL draft, we've broken down the current depth chart of every NFL team and identified the biggest draft and team needs for the Cincinnati Bengals.
You can find additional team-by-team draft needs articles and other draft content on our 2024 NFL Draft Hub.
Who Did the Cincinnati Bengals Select in the 2024 NFL Draft?
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Amarius Mims (OT, Georgia) with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Bengals also drafted:
- Kris Jenkins (DL, Michigan)
- Jermaine Burton (WR, Alabama)
- Jackson McKinnley (DT, Texas A&M)
- Erick All (TE, Iowa)
- Josh Newton (CB, TCU)
- Tanner McLachlan (TE, Arizona)
- Cedric Johnson (EDGE, Ole Miss)
- Daijahn Anthony (S, Ole Miss)
- Matt Lee (C, Miami)
Cincinnati Bengals Needs: Top Positions of Need in 2024
- Defensive Line
- Wide Receiver
- Cornerback
What Picks Do the Cincinnati Bengals Have in 2024?
The Cincinnati Bengals have 10 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, including:
- Round 1 (18)
- Round 2 (49)
- Round 3 (80)
- Round 3 (97)
- Round 4 (115)
- Round 5 (149)
- Round 6 (194)
- Round 6 (214)
- Round 7 (224)
- Round 7 (237)
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The preview is unlike anything you have ever seen, featuring stunning visualizations built with the reader in mind.
This preview shares insights into players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal in mind: to prepare you for the 2024 NFL season by delivering the smartest information in the fastest, most direct way possible.
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Cincinnati Bengals Draft Capital Stats
Our Sharp Draft Value Rank is a valuation of draft capital based on a combination of average performance delivered and average dollars earned on second contracts.
This is based on two public models: performance delivered based on draft slot (the AV model created by Chase Stuart) and contractual earnings in non-rookie deals based upon draft slot (the OTC model created by Brad Spielberger and Jason Fitzgerald).
- Bengals Sharp Draft Value Rank: 9 of 32 teams
- Bengals AV Model Draft Value Rank: 10 of 32 teams
- Bengals OTC Model Draft Value Rank: 9 of 32 teams
Cincinnati Bengals Draft Value vs. Other Teams:
The Bengals’ draft value is 8% higher than the league average of all 32 teams. 8 other teams have more draft value entering the 2024 NFL Draft.
Cincinnati Bengals Draft Prediction:
Brendan Donahue has the Bengals trading up to No. 12 overall to select Byron Murphy II (DL, Texas) in his most recent 2024 NFL Mock Draft.
Mock draft expert Ryan McCrystal believes the Bengals could target an offensive tackle like Amarius Mims (OT, Georgia) with their top pick at No. 18 overall in the first round.
Cincinnati Bengals Strength of Schedule, 2024
The Cincinnati Bengals have the 6th-easiest NFL strength of schedule for the 2024 NFL season.
Cincinnati Bengals Offense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs
Rich Hribar breaks down the offensive depth chart by position for the Cincinnati Bengals, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
Quarterback Depth Chart, Bengals:
- Joe Burrow
- Jake Browning
- Logan Woodside
Joe Burrow’s 2023 season was hampered by injuries.
Burrow opened the season with a calf injury that limited the opening month of the season when the Bengals went 1-3.
Over the opening four weeks, Burrow was dead last in the NFL with 4.8 yards per pass attempt and completed only 57.6% of his passes (32nd) with two touchdowns.
Over that span, Burrow took 96.6% of his dropbacks out of shotgun and only used play action on 18.5% of his attempts.
Getting on track, the Bengals won four of their next five games.
During that run, Burrow completed a league-high 74.1% of his passes for 7.5 Y/A (10th) with 12 touchdowns.
He took more snaps under center with his added mobility and turned his back to the defense more often, seeing his shotgun rate dip down to 87.5% while using play action on 24.9% of his dropbacks.
Then in the first half of Week 11, Burrow tore a ligament in his throwing wrist that forced him to miss the remainder of the season.
Burrow underwent surgery in late November and is expected to be ready for training camp this summer.
2024 is the first year that Burrow’s contract makes a jump ($29.7 million cap hit), and then we never look back.
After this season, Burrow will count for $46.2 million, $48.2 million, and $52.2 million against the cap through 2027, with two more high-priced seasons left through 2029 if there is not a restructure by then.
With the Bengals now through Burrow’s rookie contract, we will see how the organization impacted and calibrates retaining their stars at other positions and how they approach free agency.
The first tough decision is already here with Tee Higgins, and Ja’Marr Chase is in line for a mega-contract himself.
Behind Burrow, Jake Browning signed a two-year extension this offseason.
Browning did a solid job in relief of Burrow last season.
Getting his first taste of NFL action since entering the NFL in 2019, the Bengals went 4-3 over Browning’s seven starts.
Browning was 10th in EPA per dropback (0.11) over the final seven weeks of the season.
Running Back Depth Chart, Bengals:
- Zack Moss
- Chase Brown
- Trayveon Williams
- Chris Evans
The Bengals will have a new-look backfield this season after trading away Joe Mixon.
Just before moving Mixon, the team signed Zack Moss to a two-year deal in free agency.
Moss is coming off his best season in the league, turning 210 touches into 986 total yards and seven touches for the Colts.
If Moss can replicate his 2023 efficiency, he is essentially a cheaper version of what the team received from Mixon a year ago.
Zack Moss vs Joe Mixon 2023:
| Player | YPC | EPA/Rush | Success% | Explosive% | Stuff% | YAC/Att |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moss | 4.3 | -0.06 | 40.4% | 10.4% | 18.6% | 2.81 |
| Mixon | 4.0 | -0.06 | 36.6% | 10.5% | 16.0% | 2.51 |
Schematically, Moss also can make a seamless transition.
94.8% of the runs that Moss had in 2023 came out of shotgun, the highest rate in the NFL.
Mixon was eighth at 83.0%.
Now, Mixon was a proven workhorse while Moss has yet to clear 210 touches in an NFL season, but that discrepancy is reflected in Moss’s contract.
The Bengals will also be looking to get Chase Brown more snaps and touches as a sophomore.
Brown was an all-or-nothing producer per touch as a rookie but only had 58 total touches.
Brown only played 93 offensive snaps, but he received a touch or target on 63.4% of his snaps played, the highest rate of any running back in the league.
When he entered the game, the Bengals had a designed play call for him two-thirds of the time.
Brown only had a 25.0% success rate as a runner (81st out of 88 running backs with 25 or more runs), but he also had an explosive run on 11.4% of those rushes (25th).
Both Trayveon Williams and Chris Evans are under contract for 2024 only.
The Bengals have very little tied into the running back position big picture, but they can enter this season with a combination of Moss and Brown.
If they do add a running back here, look for that to come on Day 3.
Wide Receiver Depth Chart, Bengals:
- Ja’Marr Chase
- Tee Higgins
- Trenton Irwin
- Andrei Iosivas
- Charlie Jones
- Shedrick Jackson
- Kendric Pryor
- Kwamie Lassiter
The Bengals are approaching a fulcrum point at wide receiver.
After fielding arguably the best trio of wide receivers in the league the past three seasons, the team appears to have lost Tyler Boyd (he remains unsigned) while they are at a potential impasse with Tee Higgins.
The team has Higgins under the franchise tag, but his camp was attempting to facilitate a trade if they cannot get a long-term contract.
With Ja’Marr Chase's pending new contract that will surely reset the market as the highest-paid player at his position, giving Higgins what he is looking for is easier said than done.
The Bengals have Chase in the final season of his rookie contract. They will undoubtedly pick up his fifth-year option over the next month, which is set at $21.8 million in 2025.
Higgins is coming off a career-low 656 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.
He missed five games due to injury, playing fewer than 60% of the snaps in another three games.
The highs for Higgins still showed up in spurts, but the consistency and staying on the field have been bugaboos.
Even last year, we saw the spike moments.
Higgins had two games with a pair of touchdowns in Week 2 and Week 15.
He also had 140 yards and a touchdown in Week 16, punctuated by an 80-yard catch and run for a touchdown.
Higgins has been a volatile WR2, but that is what happens when you play next to a megastar in Chase.
Tee Higgins with and without Ja’Marr Chase on the field, 2022-2023:
| Tee Higgins | TGT/RT% | Tm TGT% | Yds/Rt |
|---|---|---|---|
| With Chase | 18.6% | 21.5% | 1.53 |
| W/o Chase | 23.5% | 27.2% | 2.61 |
Even if the Bengals do keep Higgins this season and get him to play under the tag, this team needs to re-stock the pipeline at wide receiver. They will need some cheaper contracts that also come with potential production.
I can also see this being a spot where a veteran comes in cheaply short-term.
The only wideouts here that are signed beyond this season are Chase (assuming that option is picked up), Andrei Iosivas, and Charlie Jones.
The team selected Iosivas and Jones on Day 3 last season.
Iosivas showed that he can be a big body near the end zone, catching all four of his end zone targets for scores as a rookie.
We did not see much outside of being a red zone presence as his 0.77 yards per route run last year ranked 21st among 27 rookie wide receivers to run 100 or more routes.
Jones largely only was used on special teams as a rookie.
He played just 44 offensive snaps, catching seven passes for 64 yards.
Pre Order the Best Analytical 2024 Football Preview
Don't miss out on Warren Sharp's 500+ page preview of the 2024 NFL season.
The preview is unlike anything you have ever seen, featuring stunning visualizations built with the reader in mind.
This preview shares insights into players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal in mind: to prepare you for the 2024 NFL season by delivering the smartest information in the fastest, most direct way possible.
