Now that the 2024 NFL Draft is well over, it's time for teams like the Cincinnati Bengals to start figuring out their eventual 53-man roster.

For now, 90 players make up the roster that will likely continue to be tweaked from now until the start of the regular season when teams have to make the inevitable cuts. Duke Tobin, the director of player personnel, and head coach Zac Taylor will take the time from now until then to look through every player with the hopes of building a contender that will get them back to the Super Bowl.

Of course, the Bengals started their offseason back in March when free agency opened up, even though they weren't the most active of teams. In fact, they've more or less been concerned about trying to hold on to current players, like their two talented wide receivers, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. They already lost Tyler Boyd to free agency, who will be playing for the Tennessee Titans in the fall.

As far as the draft goes, the Bengals entered the event as one of the few teams with the most overall picks. In the end, they walked away with 10, including first-round selection Amarius Mims, an offensive tackle out of Georgia, at No. 18 overall. But just because the draft ended didn't mean the Bengals were done adding to their roster. They went out and eventually signed 14 undrafted free agents.

Here they are:

  • Rocky Lombardi, QB
  • Austin McNamara, P
  • Cole Burgess, WR
  • Elijah Collins, RB
  • Noah Cain, RB
  • PJ Jules, S
  • Lance Robinson, CB
  • Michael Dowell, S
  • Aaron Casey, LB
  • Maema Njongmeta, LB
  • Justin Blazek, DE
  • Eric Miller, OT
  • Cam Grandy, TE
  • Tre Mosley, TE

Looking at all 14 undrafted free agents, if we had to pick only one to make the 53-man roster on the next-to-last Tuesday before the regular season begins, it would probably be former Texas Tech football punter Austin McNamara.

Texas Tech's Austin McNamara has the best chance to make the Bengals' 53-man roster

The Bengals had a difficult time last season with their punters, ranking 30th in the league in the category. First, it was Drue Chrisman, and then, somehow, matters got worse when Brad Robbins took over the job.

For the season, Robbins ranked 31st in yards per punt, averaging 44.3 with a long of 62 yards. He placed just 20 balls inside the 20-yard line, ranked 25th in the league. Robbins was also ranked dead last among all punters last year by Puntalytics based on their EPA metric.

In saying all that, it's no wonder the Bengals decided to sign Austin McNamara.

McNamara was ranked as the 11th best punter in college football last season while averaging 46.3 yards per punt, according to Sports-Reference. He put 24 inside the 20-yard line and booted 21 over 50 yards with a total of 27 fair catches. Also, in a game against West Virginia in 2020, he hit a remarkable, jaw-dropping 87-yard punt. In his five years in Lubbock, Texas, he averaged 45.9 yards per punt for 11,341 yards and was a four-time All-Big 12 selectee.

There was only one punter drafted during the entire 2024 NFL Draft, which was Iowa's Tory Taylor selected by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round. But McNamara was still considered one of the best available. As we all know, punters are often not drafted. Nonetheless, the Bengals signing McNamara is significant in that it immediately puts him and Robbins in competition with one another.