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The Bengals won’t release an official depth chart until the Tuesday before the regular season opener, but here is position-by-position breakdown of what one should look like based on OTAs and minicamp.
Quarterback (3)
Starter: Andy Dalton
Backups: AJ McCarron, Jeff Driskel
Dalton enters his seventh year as the starter while McCarron heads into his fourth — and what he hopes is his final — season as a backup. The Bengals like Driskel’s potential, which is why they kept him on the 53-man roster all year, protecting him from being claimed on waivers. But will they be willing to use a valuable roster spot on a third quarterback for the second year in a row?
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Running back (9)
Starter: Jeremy Hill
Backups: Giovani Bernard, Joe Mixon, Cedric Peerman, Ryan Hewitt (H-back), Tra Carson, Jarveon Williams, Stanley Williams, Darrin Laufasa (fullback)
Mixon looked as advertised in OTAs and minicamp, but there was nothing he could have done to change the fact that Hill will go into training camp as the starter. And the same will be true heading into the Sept. 10 opener against Baltimore.
The team is hopeful Bernard can get some work in during camp and be ready to play sometime in the first month of the season, which means he’ll avoid starting the year on PUP, meaning the first five listed above will be on the 53, while the others battle for a spot on the practice squad.
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Wide receiver (12)
Starters: A.J. Green, Brandon LaFell, Tyler Boyd (slot)
Backups: Cody Core, Alex Erickson, John Ross, Josh Malone, Jake Kumerow, Alonzo Russell, Chris Brown, Monty Madaris, Karel Hamilton
Even though John Ross was a first-round pick, he falls farther down the depth char because he not only couldn’t participate in any offseason work due to labrum surgery, but he was away from the team for five weeks waiting to graduate. But expect him to make up for lost time the way he does a lot of things — quickly.
There are 12 receivers competing for what likely will be seven spots on the 53-man roster. The line of demarcation is between Malone and Kumerow at the moment, but this will be Kumerow’s third year in the system, and Russell could be a dark-horse candidate.
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Tight end (5)
Starter: Tyler Eifert
Backups: C.J. Uzomah, Tyler Kroft, Mason Schreck, Cethan Carter
Eifert missed the entire offseason following back surgery, but he’s locked in as the starter with the expectation he’ll be ready to go for the first practice of camp.
Uzomah appears to have edged past Kroft, but rookie seventh-round pick Schreck could be in the mix as well. Schreck didn’t do anything to stand out this spring, but with a solid camp he could steal a spot from Uzomah or Kroft.
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Offensive line (14)
Starters: Cedric Ogbuehi, Clint Boling, Russell Bodine, Andre Smith, Jake Fisher
Backups: Eric Winston, T.J. Johnson, Trey Hopkins, Alex Redman, Christian Westerman, J.J. Dielman, Landon Lechler, Kent Perkins, Dustin Stanton
Nothing changed this spring to alter the starting five, but Smith’s spot is tenuous. Offensive line coach Paul Alexander said Smith’s move to guard is still a work in progress, so camp will be especially important for him.
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Winston gets the nod as the top backup based on his experience, but it’s fair to question how much the 34-year-old has left and whether the team might be better suited to keeping an unproven younger player with upside.
Hopkins, a natural guard, played all five spots in the spring. If he continues to prove to be a competent backup at tackle, and if Smith loses his starting guard spot and reverts to a backup tackle, Winston could be expendable, especially with the team knowing it could probably bring him back at any time should there be an injury.
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Defensive end (7)
Starters: Carlos Dunlap, Michael Johnson
Backups: Will Clarke, Wallace Gilberry, Jordan Willis, Chris Smith, Ryan Brown
Johnson gets the nod on the right side based on his experience, but Clarke, who is entering his contract year, will have a chance to win the job in camp.
The real battle will be for second-team snaps between rookie third-rounder Willis, who has been impressive this spring, Gilberry and either Johnson or Clarke.
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Defensive tackle (9)
Starters: Geno Atkins, Andrew Billings
Backups: Brandon Thompson, Pat Sims, Marcus Hardison, DeShawn Williams, Ryan Glasgow, David Dean, Josh Tupou
Sims is hardly a lock for the 53-man roster, but if he does make it, don’t be shocked if the Bengals list him as the starter on the first depth chart, based solely on experience.
But it would be somewhat of a surprise to see anyone other than Billings lining up next to Atkins on Sept. 10 vs. the Ravens. He’s fully recovered from the knee injury that cost him his entire rookie season, and performed well while getting a long look this spring.
Thompson, who also is fully recovered from the ACL injury he suffered in the 2015 season finale, could give Billings a push in camp.
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Linebacker (11)
Starters: Vontaze Burfict, Kevin Minter, Nick Vigil
Backups: Vinny Rey, Carl Lawson, P.J. Dawson, Marquis Flowers, Jordan Evans, Bryson Albright, Hardy Nickerson Jr., Brandon Bell
Vigil looks like he not only will be a starter in base but should be the guy alongside Burfict in nickel packages. Last year’s third-round pick got valuable experience in December due to injuries and the Bengals being out of the playoffs, and he built on that this spring.
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Lawson has been one of the more impressive players this spring and should get plenty of looks during camp to see if he can be as effective of a pass rusher once the pads go on and the O-line can get physical with him.
If the Bengals keep seven linebackers, there is a real chance one of them could come from the undrafted group of Albright, Nickerson and Bell as time appears to be running out on Dawson and Flowers. Nickerson would be the favorite to win that spot among those three.
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Cornerback (8)
Starters: Adam Jones, Dre Kirkpatrick
Backups: Darqueze Dennard, William Jackson, Josh Shaw, Bene Benwikere, KeiVarae Russell, Tony McRae
Even with Jones’ off-field transgressions and Kirkpatrick’s fractured hand, they are the starters going into camp. The real battle will be to see who emerges as the primary slot corner among Dennard, Jackson and Shaw.
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And it will be interesting to watch how things play out for Benwikere and Russell — two youngsters already with their second franchise — for what should be the final spot on the 53-man roster.
Safety (6)
Starters: George Iloka, Shawn Williams
Backups: Derron Smith, Clayton Fejedelem, Brandon Wilson, Demetrious Cox
Assuming the Bengals keep six corners, there will be spots for four safeties, which means the final battle likely will come down to Fejedelem, last year’s seventh-round pick, and Wilson, a rookie sixth-rounder.
Wilson spent all of OTAs and minicamp on the sideline with a knee injury, so he’ll have a lot of ground to make up on Fejedelem, who played well on special teams last year.
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Specialists (5)
Starters: Jake Elliott (kicker), Kevin Huber (punter), Clark Harris (long snapper)
Backups: Randy Bullock, Jonathan Brown
Rarely do the Bengals list a rookie ahead of a veteran on the depth chart. And they won’t do it here because by the time they release their first depth chart, there will be only one kicker that survived the cut to 53.
It has to be considered Elliott’s job to lose given that the team invested a fifth-round pick in him, but all three kickers were within percentage points of each other this spring, so how they perform in game situations in the preseason will go a long way in settling the battle.
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