When rookie receiver Jermaine Burton was asked whether he’s proved anything during the first few weeks of his pro career taking part in the Cincinnati Bengals’ voluntary workouts, he quickly balked at the concept.
“We haven’t gone against any defense yet,” he said, “so, not really.”
No doubt, Burton looked the part running routes on air. Even a 22-year-old still learning the names of his teammates knows what he’s done means very little.
“Just running routes,” he said.
The intensity amplifies this week with the next phase of the offseason program beginning. For the next three weeks, the Bengals have 10 practices scheduled (helmets!) and can start running offense and defense against each other. They can even cook up one-on-one opportunities to see where everybody stands.
The point of this time of year for the Bengals has never been to make decisions on players, though every piece of information factors into the equation. As much as any team in the league, the Bengals use the offseason program for chemistry, installation and repetition so the real evaluations can be made when training camp comes around.
There are still questions the Bengals would like to start answering over these practices. Here are the most important ones.
Can Dax Hill play outside?
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo wanted to test Hill’s “sea legs” this summer and see how he held up. The question about Hill’s move from the safety to the corner room wasn’t about athletic ability. His elite size and speed combo made him a first-round pick. He spent much of his time at Michigan playing slot corner and dropped down and covered there 133 times last year, second on the team behind Mike Hilton.
In fact, he ranked 13th out of 60 eligible defensive backs in yards allowed per snap while in the slot. That would appear to be his best fit. Unfortunately for him, Hilton starts there.
So they will find out if he can hack it on the outside as many coaches and personnel staffers believed he could when drafted. Zac Taylor expects him to work there and said he can compete to start. We should all learn quickly whether he looks natural on the outside or an out-of-place imposter running one-on-one against the Bengals’ receivers.
From there, a plan can be implemented to keep Hill more focused on the inside or potentially put him in a real competition against DJ Turner for the starting outside spot in training camp.
Dax Hill’s transition from safety to cornerback begins in this week’s OTAs. (Kareem Elgazzar / USA Today)
How does Joe Burrow look throwing to tighter windows?
As with every discussion of Burrow’s wrist recovery, a disclaimer must be levied. Burrow looks fantastic considering where he is in recovery from his November wrist injury. He’s throwing the ball deep, outside, inside, off-platform and every which way. You can see the snap on his wrist throwing back across his body and the drive on passes down the field.
He looks and sounds confident in the process. His situation is as good as you would want on Memorial Day. But it is still a process.
The next step is checking accuracy into tighter windows and seeing whether his hallmark pinpoint accuracy looks as good against blanket coverage as it has against air.
In the past, it would be fair to expect an entire practice when the ball never touches the ground. That’s unlikely. Nobody expects him to look perfect, but how close to the real Burrow will he be?
Where does Burrow start building a connection?
Another aspect of analyzing Burrow will involve monitoring his chemistry with a cast of new receivers. Third-round pick Jermaine Burton and tight end Mike Gesicki top the list, but they are far from alone.
Burrow will be looking to connect with Zack Moss out of the backfield and put together a full offseason throwing to 2023 rookies Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas.
No currency holds more weight on the practice fields adjacent to Paycor Stadium than Burrow’s trust. It earns money and snaps (ask Trenton Irwin and Tanner Hudson) or the opposite (ask receiver Mike Thomas and Irv Smith).
Now is a time to work on his patented back-shoulder throws (the ultimate trust quantifier) and consistent route depth with these new pass catchers executing these routes with him for the first time.
Who finds a connection and who finds more work to do? No final judgments can be made, but finding a foundation with any new players could go a long way to building around it in camp.
Who is playing where?
With all these new assets and the potential to play more positionless football with a cast of versatile players, where does everyone line up? How much do we see Burton in the slot? Does Gesicki spend any time in line? Does Ja’Marr Chase run deeper routes from spots on the field? Does Jones stick to a slot-only role? How many patterns do we see from Chase Brown and Moss out of the backfield?
How much of all this comes out of the under-center play-action chapter of the playbook that took off down the stretch last season?
New offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher and passing game coordinator Justin Rascati aren’t trying to reinvent the offense. Not even close. They are looking to tweak to increase explosiveness. We won’t see the full gamut of the plays, and drawing too many conclusions from what does get done this time of year can be a waste of time.
But, keeping an eye on who lines up where and what they are consistently seen doing will answer a few questions about the scheme ideas they hope to grow in camp.
Who didn’t show up?
The one player who could show up and open more than a few eyes would be Tee Higgins. His presence would be stunning considering what we know of precedent here (see Bates, Jessie), recent strategically leaked reports and his still hovering trade request.
The only case for the devil’s advocate would be Jonah Williams. He was also unhappy last offseason and also made a trade request. He returned for the mandatory minicamp, set the record straight from his point of view and went forward with a great attitude that benefited him and the team over the 2023 season. Now, Williams was under contract and Higgins is not. He has yet to sign the franchise tag and does not need to. A return is still highly unlikely even for those three days, but his absence will be written in the notebook all the same.
Outside of that, will we see Chase (extension eligible)? Trent Brown hasn’t been at any of the voluntary sessions open to the media yet. Same with free-agent defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. Among the projected starters on the roster, those are the only notable absence boxes that need to be checked.
Tee Higgins isn’t required to be at OTAs since he hasn’t signed the franchise tag. (Ian Johnson / Getty Images)
Defensive line rotations?
Any June on-field activity should not involve analysis of offensive and defensive linemen. Outside of moving to the right spots and footwork conversations, these true evaluations are saved for the arrival of pads. There’s just no way around that.
This year, however, there will be interest in the deployment of the defensive linemen. Myles Murphy needs more snaps, and some could come from Sam Hubbard bumping inside situationally. Do we see that? Will Rankins and B.J. Hill play next to each other on early downs, will second-round pick Kris Jenkins be a part of that mix, and how does McKinnley Jackson fit into the conversation?
Likely, everybody will be getting a chance to see how they perform, and rotation ideas can change between now and opening day, but it will be interesting to see if there are any indications offered on where they stand today.
Punter battle!
Get out the stopwatches. It’s time to judge (another) punter battle. Brad Robbins is being challenged by undrafted free agent Austin McNamara. Every punt and hold from now until the final decision will factor into the equation. Don’t discount performance this time of year playing a role when special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons discusses why he went in a specific direction to start the year.
