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The Cincinnati Bengals are on the fringe of becoming a championship team in the NFL. They have risen to the heights in the last two seasons, earning a spot in the Super Bowl two years ago and getting to the AFC Championship game last year.
They were bested by the Rams in Super Bowl LVI, falling short by a 23-20 margin after they had beaten the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game. Kansas City got its revenge a year later, edging the Bengals by the same 23-20 score that they had fallen to the Rams in the previous Super Bowl.
A numerologist might say the Bengals are in good shape in the 2023 season season if they can avoid a 23-20 score in any of their postseason games.
But the point is the Bengals are very close to a complete team. As they prepare for the new season, most of the starting positions are wrapped up and the training camp battles have to do with depth players. This means head coach Zac Taylor and his coaching staff will have quite a bit of work to do in deciding who makes the final positions on the roster.
Spots 48 through 53 may come down to the smallest edges, but make no mistake about it, those key depth decisions can make the difference in the late stages of a game against an elite opponent when the season is on the line.
Insiders are not concerned about quarterback Joe Burrow, wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and linebacker Logan Wilson. They are established stars and their positions are locked up without issue.
In this piece, we will look at three players who may not make the team and are strong candidates to meet the Turk at some point during training camp.
Running back Chris Evans
A look at the running back position for the Bengals indicates that Taylor has quite a bit of versatility and dependability at his disposal. Joe Mixon is the team's best at the position, and he can get the job done between the tackles or catching passes from Burrow
Mixon gained 814 yards and pounded the ball into the end zone 7 times while compiling a 3.9 yards per carry average. The running back also caught 60 passes for 441 yards and 2 touchdowns. While Mixon's yards per carry is not overly impressive, Burrow knows that Mixon will get open on key third-down plays.
Samaje Perine has moved on, and that means Trayveon Williams will take over as the No. 2 back. In theory, Chris Evans will have a shot at that job, but the 2021 sixth-round pick has not impressed Taylor to this point as he did not get a chance to carry the ball last year.
The Bengals drafted Chase Brown, and that does not bode well for Evans. He is likely the odd man out and will have a difficult time surviving training camp and making the team.
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Wide receiver Andrei Iosivas
The Bengals drafted Andrei Iosivas in the 6th round, but the Princeton product is going to have a very difficult time making the 53-man roster because the Bengals are so loaded at the wideout position.
In addition to Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Charlie Jones, are solid locks to make the team. The Bengals will also give Trenton Irwin and Stanley Morgan an excellent opportunity to make the roster.
Iosivas is 6-3 and 200 pounds, and he offers excellent leaping ability. He also has the strength to outmuscle opponents for the ball, and he runs well after making the catch.
However, his Ivy League background hurts him because he didn't face the caliber of competition that the other receivers have seen. He is neither a sophisticated route runner nor a solid blocker, and those deficiencies will keep him from making the team.
Linebacker Shaka Heyward
The Bengals signed Heyward as an undrafted rookie free agent, and that means that the coaching staff has some belief that he can become a productive player. The problem is that the Bengals have nothing but solid professionals at the linebacker position and the competition is likely to make a roster spot a major improbability.
Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Markus Bailey and Joe Bachie give the Bengals as much depth at this position as any team in the AFC.
Heyward was a dependable tackler at Duke, and he has solid technique. He is big enough at 6-3 and 235 pounds, but he doesn't play a fast enough game even though he ran well at the Combine. Heyward does many of the basic things well, but he is not a dynamic force on the field.
