NFL: Free agency fits for the top 10 teams in terms of cap space

#9. Cincinnati Bengals – Jordan Hicks

It is not too far-fetched to say the Bengals had one of the worst defenses we have ever seen over the second half of the 2018 season. Despite a 4-1 start, they ended the year at the bottom in terms of total yards allowed and they set new records for two-, four- and five-game stretches in that category. While injuries and schematic miscues plus the growing disinterest after falling off the map are definitely factors in this, you can also point to a horrendous linebacker group.

Each member of that Bengals starting trio ranked outside the top 60 according to Pro Football Focus and they failed to produce impact plays, as the entire crew (including backups) combined for eight tackles in the opposing backfield. To put that into perspective, 93 individual players had at least that many last year.

Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks on the other hand was a top ten linebacker by the PFF metric and recorded five tackles for loss himself in just 12 games, while also adding three sacks and five pass breakups.

I don’t think the Bengals defense is nearly as bad as the numbers might indicate. They still have one of the top three-techs in the game in Geno Atkins, Andrew Billings emerged last year, their edge rushing duo of Carlos Dunlap and a healthy Carl Lawson is top-notch, Jessie Bates was already an excellent center-fielder as a rookie, and William Jackson III is a rising star on the outside.

They started the season really strong, but all their issues were on full display when some injuries hit them and the offense couldn’t take any pressure off them. I think Cincinnati could have a quick turn-around if they just upgrade that linebacker level and Hicks can help them make some stops in the run game as well as being in presence in the middle versus the pass, and a blitzing threat.