The Cincinnati Bengals are looking to do something they’ve never done in their 55 years of existence. They’re trying to go back-to-back-to-back in the AFC North. However, with how the last two seasons have gone, winning the division is not the goal, it’s the expectation. Getting back to the Super Bowl has to be the goal. Getting through the best of the AFC is going to be tough.
Everyone knows the Bengals have a top quarterback in Joe Burrow and a pair of top receivers. Much has been said about Lou Anarumo and his defense and how they’ve gotten even stronger through the draft. The most impressive thing? The Bengals return both of their coordinators.
The conditions may be ripe to have a great season with Burrow hoisting the Lombardi. However, he cannot (rather, should not) have to do it alone. If the Bengals are going to do what they’ve never done, they’ll need a few players to step up and pull their weight.
Cincinnati Bengals Players Who Must Step Up
Joe Mixon
Considering that it is June 22nd and Joe Mixon is still on this roster, it’s safe to say that he will be part of the offense moving forward. There has been plenty of speculation that the Bengals will cut Mixon if they cannot come to an agreement on a pay cut.
Ever since 2017, Mixon has been the guy in Cincinnati. He has kept his nose clean (for the most part…) ever since that infamous day that Cincinnati picked him in the second round. To date, Mixon has run for 5,378 yards and 40 touchdowns, good for fifth and fourth in franchise history, respectively. Considering that this is more than likely his final year in Cincinnati, he won’t catch Corey Dillon (8,061 yards) or Pete Johnson (64). However, both James Brooks’ mark of 6,447 yards and Rudi Johnson’s 48 touchdowns are within reach.
In order to reach those heights, Mixon will have to step up and make the most of every carry. Last year, Mixon ran for just 814 yards and seven touchdowns. 153 yards and four touchdowns happened in one game. Needless to say, he’s not exactly playing to his 2021 Pro Bowl self.
Honestly, Mixon has to go into 2023 with a chip on his shoulder. He’s so often mentioned as a cap casualty and his every move has been scrutinized since day one (and, for good reason). Even moreseo, the Bengals used a fifth-round pick on Chase Brown, the 2022 leading rusher in the Big Ten. Barring multiple unforeseen things, this will be the final season we see Mixon in Cincinnati.
Irv Smith, Jr.
Another Bengals player who must step up is Irv Smith, Jr. but for a different reason than Mixon.
For Mixon, it is all about showing that you belong on the team and that the “Running Backs Don’t Matter” crowd is wrong. For Smith, it’s all about finally establishing himself in the NFL because this could very well be his last shot in the NFL.
To date, Smith has accounted for 858 yards and nine touchdowns in four years in the league. In those four years, he’s only appeared in 37 games (15 starts), all with the Minnesota Vikings. He missed all of the 2021 season with a torn meniscus. He only suited up for eight games in 2022 due to a high ankle sprain. Smith did return later in the Wild Card Round and recorded one reception for three yards but it was a touchdown that pulled the Vikings to within three. That ended up being the final touchdown scored by the club in the year.
This year’s draft class was loaded with tight end talent, so the fact that the team elected to go without shows that they are sticking with the 24-year-old.
If he remains healthy and he doesn’t force the Bengals to use *shudders* Drew Sample as a receiver, he can revitalize his career as Hayden Hurst did before him. Hurst was considered a lesser athlete and playmaker than Smith and even he contributed 414 yards and a pair of scores off of 52 receptions. The two have a similar yards-per-target mark in their careers but Hurst’s was actually a career-low in 2022 with 6.1. Smith is coming off his worst as well, just 5.2 himself.
The Bengals don’t use their tight ends as receivers as frequently as others but Smith may give them a bit more flexibility this year. He doesn’t need to be a top-10 tight end, but he will need to be one of the Bengals players who step up.
Joseph Ossai
Recency bias is a helluva drug, if we’re honest. The last we saw Joseph Ossai, he committed a massive roughing the passer penalty against Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship Game. Overshadowed by that error was Ossai’s impressive performance. In total, he finished with five tackles, one for loss, a pass breakup, and two quarterback hits. Objectively, it was his best non-pre-season outing of his young career.
Since he missed the entire 2021 season, expectations were not high. He was considered a steal at the end of the second round and his athleticism alone was enough to get fans excited. Seem familiar? Those are the same feelings toward this year’s first-round pick, Myles Murphy.
Of the Bengals who must step up, Ossai likely has the highest ceiling. He’s behind Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard in the EDGE rotation and the guys behind him are only getting better. It may only be his third season in 2023 but the margin for error for Ossai has never been smaller.
As it turns out, Ossai was playing with a torn labrum through 2022. Plus, he was even quoted as asserting that his knee buckled on that infamous hit. Is that an excuse or was it legit? Honestly, only he is to know. However, expecting Ossai to take a step forward in 2023 has to be common sense.
Anarumo still believes in Ossai. Considering the additions on the defensive line, as well as the development of Ossai and the other depth pieces, there is a growing feeling that there is going to be more of a rotation in the unit. We will likely see more of Ossai in packages with other dynamic edge rushers.
Over the past two years, the Bengals defense has been a strength. If Ossai is able to step up to be the player many Bengals fans believe he is, this unit could be even better.
Cordell Volson
Now, this is not to say that Cordell Volson was bad in 2022. There were moments when Volson looked solid. There were other moments when he looked like a fourth-round rookie out of an FCS school. What’s impressive is the fact that Volson was drafted as depth and to battle it out with Jackson Carman and he comes into 2023 as the unquestioned starter at left guard.
The Bengals could have moved Jonah Williams to right tackle after the signing of Orlando Brown, Jr. and kicked La’el Collins inside to left guard once healthy. Alas, it was not to be. Williams and Collins will battle it out with Carman and Volson is the guy.
It’s very possible that Volson is the worst offensive lineman in 2023…but that’s not saying much!
Last year, Burrow was sacked 41 times in the regular season and another 10 times in the postseason. Five of those sacks were charged to Volson. Considering Williams allowed an NFL-worst 12, that’s not too back. However, he could always get better.
Volson was the only player on the team to play every single snap during the season. There is a concern that he’s hit his ceiling as an NFL player due to his age out of college. While this is a fair concern, Volson should still be expected to be one of the Bengals players to step up in 2023.
