The Cincinnati Bengals have some interesting questions to answer in their training camp. While most of their key positions are already set (most of their offense and defense are set already), there's some areas that need some questions. Depth in certain positions is a concern, especially considering last season's injuries and the injuries to current players.

With that in mind, let's take a look at which positions on the Bengals will likely have a battle in training camp. Some of these positions will end up mattering from Week 1, while others are battles that are meant as an “insurance policy” in case something happens during the season.

WR4

The Bengals' wide receiver room is considered to be one of the best, if not the best groups in the league. It's easy to see why: Ja'Marr Chase is already a top 5 to top 10 WR in the league. Tee Higgins, his WR2, could be the top receiver in plenty of other teams (including some title contenders). Rounding out the trio is Tyler Boyd, who is also a damn good receiver who feeds off of the attention Chase and Higgins attract.

So why did the Bengals draft two wide receivers late into the 2023 NFL draft? Well, the 2022 season showed just how valuable having a reliable WR4 is to a team. Chase was injured for a good chunk of the season, and Higgins and Boyd also suffered injuries throughout the year. Higgins and Boyd can easily step into the WR2 or WR1 role if needed, but will there be anyone to take their spot in the pecking order?

The veterans on the roster (Trenton Irwin, Trent Taylor, Stanley Morgan Jr) will be battling against the new kids on the block for the right to be the Bengals' WR4 (and even WR5). Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas are all promising rookies with different strengths, and it will be interesting to see which of these five guys make the team for 2023 after training camp.

Safety

The biggest loss of the Bengals' offseason came from their secondary position. Their starting safety duo went off to the NFC South (Vonn Bell to the Panthers, Jessie Bates III to the Falcons). Cincinnati also let cornerback Eli Apple go, though one could argue that this move was addition by subtraction.

In any case, the Bengals have some big shoes to fill in their secondary position. Last season, Daxton Hill saw significant playing time, even in key moments. Barring a sudden setback, Hill should be one of the starting safeties. Chidobe Awuzie will remain as their CB1 once he returns from his ACL tear, and Mike Hilton and Cam Taylor-Britt will join him in the CB room.

That leaves the other starting safety position up for grabs. The Bengals had defense in mind to start the 2023 draft, taking safety Jordan Battle in the second round. Cincinnati also signed veteran S Nick Scott this offseason. That second safety position will boil down to these two. Battle has a real chance of earning that spot if he performs well in the Bengals' training camp, but Scott could end up with S2 honors due to his veteran status.

Punter

How interesting can a training camp battle between punters be? Well, let's try to make it sound interesting. Drue Chrisman was the Bengals' primary punter last season (recently-retired Kevin Huber was released midway through the 2022 season), and he's got a hell of a leg to kick with. He's averaging 47.4 yards per punt, which is amazing. However, that comes at the cost of hang time: his low hang time gives the special teamers less time to catch up to the ball once it's in the air.

Meanwhile, rookie punter Brad Robbins doesn't have the same leg power as Chrisman. However, he's more similar to Huber in his ability to limit opposing offenses. The Bengals rookie has an amazing hang time (4.28 seconds, compared to Chrisman's 3.85) and was precise with the ball, too. Robbins also had zero touchbacks, which is critical to being a great punter. You don't always need to send it flying out of the endzone: all you need is the perfect touch to place it exactly where you want the offense to start.

A great punter elevates a defense. Poor punting will put your defense in compromising positions, giving them less breathing room to work with. The Bengals' punter decision in training camp will be important to their success.

RB1

This one could be a lot more interesting than some people anticipate. Had Samaje Perine stayed with the Bengals, the RB position wouldn't be a question mark in training camp. After Perine's departure and Joe Mixon's contract restructure, though… running back is now going to be an interesting battle to watch.

Joe Mixon had an incredible 2021 season. His shifty running and pass-catching prowess made him a valuable tool in the Bengals' offense. Last season, though, Mixon heavily regressed in terms of production. His 3.9 YPC was already less than ideal, but take away an outlier game against the Panthers, and his YPC goes down to 3.5. His weakness as a pass-blocker also makes him a liability in an offense that needs to give Joe Burrow time in the pocket.

Meanwhile, rookie Chase Brown could emerge as the heir to Samaje Perine's throne. The rookie totaled over 1600 yards in his final season in college for Illinois, and he's projected to be a much better pass blocker than Mixon. Brown is also working on his pass catching: the one edge that Mixon had over Perine and his competitors.

Entering training camp, most people expect the Bengals to deploy Joe Mixon as their RB1 and have Brown take third-down duties like Perine. However… if Brown impresses enough people at camp (and he's already starting to do just that), he could take Mixon's spot before the season even starts.