If you're thinking about how the teams in Super Bowl LVI were built, you probably don't need to know much about one side of the matchup. The Los Angeles Rams are probably the league's most uniquely built team, having repeatedly traded away first-round picks to acquire young stars. The Rams don't hate draft picks as much as some might suggest -- they're actually quite fond of racking up compensatory selections -- but their roster-building philosophy and the path they took to get here is no secret.
The Cincinnati Bengals are slightly less obscure, but in their own way, coach Zac Taylor's team is just as unique. His first year in Cincinnati in 2019 was basically a write-off as the team transitioned from the Marvin Lewis era, but the Bengals have had a clear roster construction model over the past two offseasons. I don't think anybody expected that path to lead to a Super Bowl just one year removed from a 4-11-1 season, but football teams move faster than we think.
Let's break down what the Bengals did to go from 2-14 to AFC champions in two offseasons. I'll also try to identify which teams might be in position to emulate their philosophy this spring, even if a trip to the Super Bowl might not be in their cards. Here's how the Bengals were built:
Jump to: Which teams could be next
The holdovers
Players (8): S Jessie Bates III, WR Tyler Boyd, OL Trey Hopkins, EDGE Sam Hubbard, P Kevin Huber, RB Joe Mixon, DT Josh Tupou, TE C.J. Uzomah
There are only eight Lewis-era players left on Cincinnati's active roster. The good news is that many of them are key contributors. The only player who isn't a weekly starter is the 345-pound Tupou, who plays a situational role as the team's nose tackle. Hopkins has been a starter out of necessity as opposed to performance, but many of the players on this list are above-average players.
The postseason has been a coming-out party for Bates, who made a great play to pick off Ryan Tannehill's opening pass in the divisional round against the Titans before breaking up the pass that Vonn Bell intercepted in overtime last Sunday against the Chiefs. Bates has consistently been a player the Bengals have relied on in the secondary, but with the veteran additions made throughout the past two offseasons, the players around him have improved.
The Bengals were not aided by a series of subpar drafts at the end of the Lewis era, which was especially damaging for an organization that had been both great at developing young players and loathe, at that time, to spend money importing players from other organizations in free agency. The only players left on the Cincinnati roster from the 2014, 2015 and 2016 drafts are Boyd and Uzomah. Mixon is the only player left on the active roster from the 2017 NFL draft, although a couple of other late-round selections are on injured reserve.
This team suffered through a brutal run of first-round selections toward the end of Lewis' tenure. In the place where organizations need to find their superstars, Cincinnati drafted cornerback Darqueze Dennard, offensive lineman Cedric Ogbuehi, cornerback William Jackson, wide receiver John Ross and center Billy Price. Jackson was the only one who developed into a starting-caliber player. Lewis' final draft delivered Bates and Hubbard in the second and third rounds, and while Price never developed into a useful contributor after being drafted in Round 1, he ended up netting a valuable player for the Bengals in a trade.
The quarterback
Players (1): QB Joe Burrow
One of the most random elements of any rebuild is ending up with the right draft pick at the right time. The Bengals didn't expect to be great after going 6-10 and firing Lewis after the 2018 season, but they probably weren't counting on going 2-14 in Taylor's first season. They ended up with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft.
As you might remember, that seemed unlikely to happen for most of the 2019 season. The Dolphins were quite visibly tanking, and while the Dolphins and the Bengals started 0-7, Miami had some of the worst peripheral numbers we've ever seen from an NFL team. Thankfully for Cincinnati, Miami started winning, while the Bengals lost five games they were either leading in or tied up during the fourth quarter. By the time they won a meaningless game in Week 17, they had already clinched the top pick.
Of course, the Dolphins were originally tanking under the aegis of selecting Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was widely expected to be the No. 1 pick. Tagovailoa was having another superb season before suffering a serious hip injury, which led him to eventually fall to the Dolphins with the No. 5 selection.
The Bengals instead took Burrow, who entered the 2019 campaign as a relatively anonymous SEC quarterback before producing one of the greatest seasons in the history of college football. Burrow had future first-round receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson and a second-rounder in Terrace Marshall Jr., but the 6-foot-4 quarterback more than held up his end of the bargain. He went from projecting as a borderline NFL player to being an easy selection at the top of the draft.
While every struggling organization hopes to land its franchise quarterback in the draft, the reality is that a truly awful season doesn't always line up with that prospect. The Lions will be happy to draft pass-rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux or Aidan Hutchinson with the second pick in the 2022 draft, but I'm sure they would prefer to draft a superstar quarterback prospect. Likewise, even though the Jags nabbed Trevor Lawrence a year ago, the presence of a Burrow-type prospect in the 2022 class would have made the No. 1 pick worth a franchise-altering sum. The Titans were able to parlay a similar situation in 2016 into three first-round picks and two second-rounders from the Rams.
The Bengals happened to be just bad enough at just the right time. While Burrow suffered a catastrophic knee injury last season, the Heisman Trophy winner led the league in both completion percentage (70.4) and yards per attempt (8.9) as a sophomore. He is one of the best young passers in football, and nothing kicks off a rebuild quite like a franchise quarterback.
The weapons
Players (5): WR Ja'Marr Chase, WR Tee Higgins, RB Chris Evans, TE Drew Sample, RB Trayveon Williams
Even before they drafted Burrow, it was clear that the Bengals and director of player personnel Duke Tobin were focusing on replenishing their weapons. Tobin has been with the team since 1999, but as a newcomer, Taylor inherited Boyd and Uzomah, signing both to extensions before the 2019 season began. Contrast that to Jackson, who was allowed to leave in free agency for Washington. A.J. Green was also on the roster, but the star wideout missed all of 2019 and struggled through a season after getting franchise-tagged in 2020 before leaving in free agency.
The Bengals have added players at the skill positions early in each of Tobin and Taylor's three drafts together. In 2019, they used a second-round pick on Sample, a blocking tight end who hasn't developed much as a receiver. You can understand why they wanted to take a shot on him -- the physical comparables included Todd Heap and Travis Kelce -- but Cincinnati fans would probably have preferred one of the many great wideouts who were still on the board, including Diontae Johnson, DK Metcalf and Terry McLaurin.
Of course, the Bengals do not lack for wideouts. They used a second-round selection in 2020 on Higgins, who was last seen catching big pass after big pass over the middle in the win over the Chiefs. Last year, they made a controversial selection in drafting Chase, Burrow's former LSU teammate, over a possible franchise left tackle in Oregon's Penei Sewell. Tobin used his initial first-rounder in 2019 on Alabama tackle Jonah Williams, but after Williams missed 22 of his first 32 games as a pro with injuries, there was plenty of pressure on the Bengals to draft line help.
Burrow's line hasn't been great -- and Sewell had a fine rookie season with Detroit -- but nobody is questioning this pick now. Chase was dominant for stretches as a rookie, most notably during his spectacular 266-yard performance against the Chiefs in Week 17. The 21-year-old has more postseason receiving yards than any rookie in NFL history, a mark he'll only extend in the Super Bowl.
The combination of Chase and Higgins is one of the scariest one-two punches we've seen for wideouts at the beginning of their careers. The league's pass-happy nature and the addition of a 17th game means that it's easier to set receiving records than ever before, but Chase and Higgins are just the second set of wideouts in their first or second seasons since the merger to each rack up 1,000 yards in the same season.
In this way, ironically, the Bengals might be similar to how coach Sean McVay built the Rams after arriving in Los Angeles. McVay inherited Jared Goff after general manager Les Snead and then-coach Jeff Fisher drafted the Cal product with the No. 1 pick in 2016, but McVay used his first offseason to pepper his new quarterback with weapons. The Rams signed Robert Woods (and star left tackle Andrew Whitworth) in free agency before they used their top two picks on tight end Gerald Everett and wideout Cooper Kupp. They completed the set by trading for Bills wideout Sammy Watkins in August. Taylor, who was then an assistant coach for Los Angeles, appears to have been paying attention.
The offensive line
Players (6): G Hakeem Adeniji, G Jackson Carman, C Trey Hill, OT Riley Reiff, G Quinton Spain, OT Jonah Williams
The moves Taylor and Tobin have made to try to shore up a disappointing offensive line haven't been anywhere near as impactful. Williams finally played a full season in 2021, but he has been closer to a competent left tackle than a star. Reiff, who was signed this offseason to play the right side, is on injured reserve with an ankle injury. The Bengals used a second-round pick on Carman, but he has spent most of his rookie season as a backup after getting benched in November.
What has remained hasn't always been impressive. Spain has had a solid season after joining from the Bills last year, but the right side of this line is a mess. Adeniji was benched for Carman during the win over the Chiefs, but Carman was then removed from the lineup for the starter as the game went along. The current right tackle is Isaiah Prince, who was cut by the Dolphins in 2019 before opting out of the 2020 season. This is a better run-blocking line than pass-blocking unit -- and some of the nine sacks against the Titans weren't on the line -- but it has felt at times like the Bengals have won despite their line during this postseason.
The defensive free agents
Players (9): CB Eli Apple, CB Chidobe Awuzie, S Vonn Bell, EDGE Trey Hendrickson, CB Mike Hilton, DT Larry Ogunjobi, DT D.J. Reader, S Michael Thomas, CB Trae Waynes
What makes the Bengals so fascinating and unique is what they've done on the other side of the ball. While they have focused their draft picks on adding weapons on offense, they've rebuilt the vast majority of their defense through veteran free agency. Of the 12 defenders who played at least 50% of their defensive snaps this season, seven were acquired in free agency over the past two offseasons.
One of the most notable and expensive names of the bunch has been a major disappointment. Waynes was signed to a three-year, $42 million deal before the 2020 season, but injuries have limited the former Vikings first-round pick to 243 snaps over his first two seasons. He has been active all postseason without taking a single defensive snap, instead mixing in for 10 appearances on special teams. He's unlikely to feature meaningfully in the Super Bowl, barring an unexpected change in role or an injury to one of the players ahead of him on the depth chart.
The vast majority of Cincinnati's investments have worked out, however. The most conspicuous success has been Hendrickson, a player whose signing I was skeptical of last offseason. I was very wrong. Hendrickson has been a superstar in his first season with the Bengals, building on what appeared to be a career season with the Saints. He had 14 sacks and 27 knockdowns with the Bengals in the regular season before adding 2.5 sacks and four knockdowns during the AFC playoffs.
He's not the only player to produce after joining the Bengals. Awuzie, who had been a reasonable starting corner in Dallas, played like a Pro Bowler this season, allowing a 75.1 passer rating. Hilton, an undrafted free agent who became a Mike Tomlin favorite with the rival Steelers, is one of the league's best slot corners. Reader missed most of 2020 because of a quad injury, but he was a significant force in helping limit Derrick Henry to 3.1 yards per carry in the divisional round. The Bengals will miss Ogunjobi, who was having an excellent year before a foot injury in the wild-card round ended his season. Apple has bounced around the league and gives up his fair share of big plays, but he allowed a respectable 86.6 passer rating in coverage as a full-time starter this season.
Another team's trash ...
Players (5): CB Tre Flowers, CB Vernon Hargreaves, DT B.J. Hill, RB Samaje Perine, DT Zach Kerr
The Bengals have also found useful roles for players who were cut or about to be cut by other teams, with three of those players making meaningful contributions in the AFC Championship Game. Perine, who has served as a third-down back behind Mixon, took a screen to the house to begin Cincinnati's comeback. Flowers, who was let go by the Seahawks earlier this season, was in coverage on Kelce on a crucial third down in the second half on Sunday and won the rep.
The biggest impact might have come from Hill, who was acquired from the Giants for Price before the season. Hill had 5.5 sacks and 12 knockdowns in a rotational role as a defensive tackle in 2021, but you might recognize his name from one of the most important plays of the postseason, when he intercepted Patrick Mahomes in the second half of the AFC Championship Game. The pick set up Cincinnati's game-tying touchdown. Even if Hill has an anonymous Super Bowl and leaves in free agency after the season, the Bengals got plenty out of their deal, especially given that Price was a doubt to even make the 53-man roster.
The other draft picks
Players (5): LB Markus Bailey, K Evan McPherson, LB Germaine Pratt, DL Cam Sample, LB Logan Wilson
While Cincinnati has clearly focused on investing in veterans up front and in the secondary, it starts a pair of third-round picks at linebacker in Pratt and Wilson. Wilson was asked to spy Mahomes during the AFC Championship Game victory. Bailey, a seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft, filled in when Pratt and Wilson were injured down the stretch. Sample, a rookie fourth-rounder, was a rotational lineman this season.
One of the most valuable members of the roster is the rookie kicker. McPherson first drew attention for missing what would have been two game-winning kicks against the Packers in Week 5. Since then, he has been virtually automatic. He has hit 35 of his 37 subsequent field goal attempts, including four field goals in each of Cincinnati's three playoff victories. The only kicker to make more in a single postseason is Adam Vinatieri, who went 14-of-15 for the Colts in 2006. Given that the Bengals have won their past two games by 3 points, they might not be in the Super Bowl without McPherson.
Kicking lots of field goals and struggling with pass protection is not usually a great formula for success, but it has worked for the Bengals. They have made big plays when they've needed and often been the steadier, more reliable team while taking advantage of their opponents' mistakes. They were good enough to win the AFC, and they're good enough to beat the Rams in the Super Bowl.
Which teams could be next?
Every bad team wants to emulate the Bengals and make a sudden leap from last place to the Super Bowl, but it's easier said than done. In looking around the doldrums of the NFL, a few teams stand out as possible successors to the Cincinnati throne:
Seattle Seahawks. Of the eight last-placed teams, Russell Wilson and his Seahawks stand out as a team likely to improve in 2022. They went from being lucky in one-score games in 2019 and 2020 to disappointing in those same games this season, and they share Cincinnati's offensive firepower and curious taste in offensive linemen.
The path forward for the Seahawks might also involve spending heavily in free agency to upgrade the defense. They project to have $37 million in cap space this offseason, a number that could rise north of $57 million if they release DE Carlos Dunlap and LB Bobby Wagner. A pay cut might be more likely for Wagner, but the Seahawks could invest in players up front or in the secondary and reap the dividends with a playoff run.
Jacksonville Jaguars. Like the Bengals, the Jaguars have a superstar college quarterback who was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick. While Burrow's rookie season was marred by that knee injury, though, Trevor Lawrence's season was compromised by the ailment that was Urban Meyer. The Jags are still trying to convince a coach to come work with general manager Trent Baalke, but it seems incredibly unlikely that they'll have a less impressive or qualified coach than the one who embarrassed the franchise throughout the 2021 season.
If the new coach can unlock offensive weapons Laviska Shenault Jr. and Travis Etienne Jr., the Jags should have a promising young offense, if not one with the sort of ceiling we saw from the Bengals. Jacksonville is also in line to add a superstar defensive lineman with the No. 1 pick in April's draft, but it could stand to follow in Cincinnati's footsteps by investing in veterans on the defensive side of the ball.
New York Giants. There are a lot of similarities between the formulas these two teams have followed. Like the Bengals, the Giants have loaded up on weapons, including first-round picks at running back (Saquon Barkley), wide receiver (Kadarius Toney) and tight end (Evan Engram). Engram is a free agent, but the Giants can also bring back free-agent disappointment Kenny Golladay, Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard, albeit with the latter coming off a torn Achilles.
They've also invested heavily in veterans from outside the organization on the defensive side of the ball. Now-deposed general manager Dave Gettleman traded for, franchised-tagged and then extended Leonard Williams. He signed James Bradberry, Logan Ryan, Adoree' Jackson, and Blake Martinez in free agency. There are also a couple of talented front-seven draftees in Dexter Lawrence and Azeez Ojulari. The results weren't always great, but there's lots of talent and money being spent on this side of the ball.
The problem for the Giants, of course, is that they don't have Burrow. New coach Brian Daboll might be optimistic about getting more out of Daniel Jones than his predecessors -- and the former Bills offensive coordinator helped mold Josh Allen into a superstar -- but Jones hasn't ever pieced together the sort of run we saw from Burrow to end the 2021 season. I don't think Jones has a season in his pocket like the one Burrow just ran off, and that should cap the Giants' chances of making a stunning leap. Then again, though, who would have suggested that the Bengals were about to go from last place in the AFC North to the Super Bowl?