Los Bengals they had to wait 31 years to win again in the playoffs and now they are just one win away from reaching the Super Bowl, a stage they haven’t reached since 1988, when they fell to the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIII.
At first glance, it might seem that the Bengals made a big investment to return to the postseason, the reality is different. The core of the club is built by young talent arrived by the draft and reinforced in unthinkable ways.
How were the Bengals built?
Looking ahead to the AFC Championship Game, the Bengals list 53 players on the active roster, of which 24 arrived at Paul Brown Stadium by way of recruitment. It should be noted that the most experienced player recruited by Cincinnati in the draft credits seven years in the NFL and only three came in the first round of the event.
Roster de los Bengals
In addition, the Bengals’ offensive pillars have meant a strong investment by the club. Ja’Marr Chase y Joe Burrow are first-round picks and Joe Mixon he joined the cub in the second round of the draft.
The other part of the Bengals roster (29 elements) is integrated in a peculiar way. Only 10 of those players came through free agency. and eight of those were signings made during Zac Taylor’s tenure (those moves were made primarily to shore up the defense).
The peculiar thing about the Cincinnati roster is that 11 of the players who will see action and Kansas City they were unrecruited rookies, seven signed by other clubs and four more have passed between the active squad and the practice squad.
As if the above were not enough, seven players were claimed off the waivers system and only one item came to the Bengals via trade (BJ Hill).
