[Cactus Jack]

I thought my Bengals had a solid draft, addressing positions of need. I thought the pick of Chase Brown, running back from Illinois in the 5th round, was especially on the money. I was impressed by him every time I saw him last year, and the Bengals have lost Samaji Perine to free agency, and may have to part ways with Joe Mixon for salary cap reasons. The Bengals have a real championship opportunity this year and next, before they start having to make really hard decisions on contracts. They will probably be relevant as long as Joe Burrow is there and healthy, but they need to get it done soon.

Solid draft.  Like you, I love the Brown pick. Good blocking back, as well.  Murphy could be a steal. The Alabama kid is smart and hard-nosed. Wouldn't be surprised to see him get on the field. Good draft.  Their roster is solid. Gonna be fun seeing Joe work with an extra second. Finally some depth on the line. Collins looks in great shape and has a great attitude. Carman was a beast in Buffalo. Jonah has something to prove. Deep, talented roster!!!

Bengals have had a rough year and were limited by injuries to Burrow.

I don't see them catching Baltimore, meaning they'd be playing on the road during Wildcard Weekend if they were able to make the playoffs.

The huge issue of Burrow's health and durability aside, if the Bengals weren't going to make a deep run, it's always good to have a high draft pick. Their last two wins now have them projected to pick at #18; having only five wins would have probay put them between the 7th and 11th. This might not seem significant, but the difference in expected returns between those slots are. With Minnesota, @Pittsburgh, @Kansas City, and Cleveland remaining, it isn't a stretch to see them losing out.

They may have some confidence in Browning as a backup, but he'll need to be resigned. He could have already pulled a Matt Flynn and overly inflated his market rate versus his actual worth by playing well in a limited window.

Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Irv Smith, OT Jonah Williams and DT D.J. Reader also enter free agency this offseason.

Do they punt on a backup QB if Browning's ask is too high? I think so unless he plays well and they have more concerns about Burrow than we know. There are just too many other areas where those dollars could be better spent and the window is closing quickly.

Absent movement in free agency, I'd expect them to look at OL prospects, but Round 1 is probably too early to pull the trigger on a guard to replace Volson. Their defense has been roughed up this season so there are some real areas of need there too, but this is also where they invested a ton of draft capital last season.