There is little doubt that quarterback Joe Burrow is the man that makes the Cincinnati Bengals tick. While most teams will point to their quarterback as the team's most important player, there are few teams that can reach the level Burrow can get to with the Bengals. The only teams that come close to reaching those heights at the QB1 slot include the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes, the Bills with Josh Allen, the Ravens with Lamar Jackson and the Eagles with Jalen Hurts.
As a result, one of the most important things that Bengals head coach Zac Taylor must do is ensure that the protection Burrow receives is good enough to keep the quarterback upright for 17 games. This was not a strength for the Bengals during the 2024 season. Cincinnati gave up 48 sacks last year and that ranked tied for 21st in the NFL.
That's one of the areas that concerns Taylor and the Bengals coaching staff quite a bit this summer. The Bengals opened the preseason with a challenging game against the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, and Burrow was in the lineup.
The quarterback had lobbied Taylor during the offseason about playing in the preseason, something he had done very little of in recent years. Burrow wants to play in the preseason this summer because he wants to be in top form when the Bengals open the season in Week 1 with a road game against the Cleveland Browns. The quarterback does not want to be rusty at the start of the season, and he took a major step towards starting the season in top form with his performance against the Eagles.
Burrow opens preseason in sharp fashion for the Bengals
Burrow completed 9 of 10 passes against the Eagles for 123 yards with two touchdowns. While he was not sacked during his time under center, he was under significant pressure when when left guard Lucas Patrick struggled quite a bit during the first drive of the game.
He was beaten badly by Byron Young on one play and he was able to put significant pressure on Burrow. The quarterback had to avoid a shot that the defensive tackle tried to deliver. If Young had been able to corral Burrow or hit him with a significant blow, it could have been a big problem for the Bengals.
Patrick is listed as the starting left guard for the Bengals, and that appears to be a poor choice by the coaching staff at this point. Backup left guard Cody Ford would appear to be a better choice. Patrick was with the Green Bay Packers for five years, moved on to the Chicago Bears and was with the New Orleans Saints last season.
Ford has played six NFL seasons, including three with the Bills and one with the Arizona Cardinals before playing the last two with the Bengals.
Ford is somewhat bigger than Patrick as he weighs 16 pounds more, and he may be tougher for opposing defensive tackles to beat.
If the Bengals are intent on keeping Burrow healthy, they may be better off with Patrick playing a backup role and Ford as the starter.
The next version of the Bengals' depth chart may reveal a change at the starting left guard spot.
A surprise on the defensive side of the Bengals' depth chart
There are no surprises on the offensive side of the ball, but the Bengals list rookie Demetrius Knight as the starting weakside linebacker. Knight was a second-round draft pick and he figures to be a contributor, but he does not have a lot of experience as a linebacker.
It may take several games this season before he can make a consistent contribution. Errors are likely to be a part of his game in the preseason and first part of the regular season, but defensive coordinator Al Golden may be able to bring the best out of Knight at a much faster pace than would normally be expected.
