Over the past ten years, the Cincinnati Bengals have completely neglected the tight end position. For six seasons from 2015 to 2021, the franchise put all of its faith in the underwhelming consistency of C.J. Uzomah. After that, they switched to the undelivered upside of Hayden Hurst in 2022 and an attempted comeback for the oft injured Irv Smith Jr. While none of those players were major investments, they have unfortunately matched their low salaries with insignificant performances.
ESPN Predicts Bengals to Sign Former First Round Tight End
On Saturday afternoon, ESPN sports contributor Aaron Schatz picked an impact free agent for each team and for Cincinnati, Schatz chose Seattle Seahawks tight end Noah Fant. Schatz provided the following insight on his prediction:
“Fant has never quite lived up to expectations as a first-rounder, but that’s more an issue of usage than efficiency,” Schatz wrote. “Fant has put up positive DYAR in all five of his NFL seasons, and he ranked ninth among qualifying tight ends in receiving DVOA this past season. Every tight end on the Bengals’ roster is a free agent, so they’ll need to address the position in free agency and the draft. Imagine what quarterback Joe Burrow could get out of Fant’s first-round talent.”
The story of Fant’s NFL career up to this point has been fairly tragic as he was stuck in quarterback purgatory. During his stint with the Denver Broncos, Fant suffered through several seasons with mediocre starting quarterbacks and was ultimately included as an incentive during the Bronco’s trade for Russell Wilson. Then with Seattle, he simply wasn’t able to excel under the game manager style of Geno Smith.
Finally, after four tough seasons in the NFL, Fant has the opportunity to pick which team he goes to next and really make a name for himself. That being said, he might choose the best opportunity to go play for an elite quarterback and as I have said before, most elite teams in the NFL already have elite tight ends. If he is aiming to play with an elite quarterback, Joe Burrow is clearly one of the best.
On Cincinnati’s end, they desperate need the help at tight end after their entire position group is hitting free agency this offseason. There is some wild speculation that the team might be aggressive and trade up for Georgia prospect Brock Bowers but tight ends have some of the lowest success rates in the NFL. It is probable that Cincinnati would opt to choose a lower risk and more experienced product like Fant and save their draft capital.
The addition of Fant would allow some flexibility regarding the situation with Tee Higgins. Since Fant is a big target, he would be able to fill the physicality role that Higgins plays in this passing attack. After signing the franchise tag, the team will have to decide whether to let Higgins walk next year or trade him for draft picks over the next couple months. Fant would be a tremendous asset to an already dangerous offense as Cincinnati sets its aims on another Super Bowl appearance.
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