Outside Free Agents 2023

[Bengalbro]

Started to go over outside free agents roster by roster alphabetically, and these are the guys I am interested in so far. Bold are guys I would really like. Underline are guys who will probably be too pricy

TE-Josh Oliver
T-Kaleb McGary
T-Kelvin Beachum
DL-Zach Allen
DT-Taven Bryan
DT-Matt Ionnadis
DT-Jarran Reed
DE-Frank Cominsky
LB-Leighton Vander Esch
LB-Matthew Adams
S-Rudy Ford
S-Donovan Wilson
CB-Byron Murphy
CB-Isaiah Oliver

[texbengal]

Some good names there. Reed was a guy that they brought in for a visit, but he signed elsewhere. He can provide some push upfield. Ionnadis is pretty decent, too.

I think VanderEsch will cost a lot, and I wouldn't think he would cost much less than Pratt would as a re-sign. Given they don't seem to put a lot of emphasis on the LB position, I'm thinking they would go with ADG and Bailey, assuming Pratt walks. Of course, that's contingent on Lou going elsewhere... maybe a new DC would have different ideas about the role of the LB.

S Donovan Wilson had a nice year in Dallas... he's a really big hitter but he's pretty good in coverage, too. I do like Murphy at CB.

I haven't reviewed the list yet, but FA is only a month or so away. Where'd you find the list?

[texbengal]

Found this from PFF:

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2023-fr...gs-free-agency

I'm sure some guys will get tagged and/or signed between now and the start of FA, but based on this list (and I didn't include the top 20 guys from a $ standpoint), guys that would intrigue me are below. That said, even guys on this list - with the expanded cap - are likely to get hella $, so I wouldn't expect to see them be signed by the Bengals. More likely, it'll be sign your own guys, and sprinkle the roster with some mid-tier players. I bolded the guys that BengalBro had.

From the PFF list, I focused on interior DT/pass rush help, RB depth (in the case of Montgomery), and DB depth at either S or CB.

Dre'Mont Jones, DT
Zach Allen, DT
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, DB (versatile)
Kaleb McGary, OT
Byron Murphy, DB (versatile)
David Onyemata, DT
Jimmie Ward, S
Mike Gesicki, TE (doesn't block but very good receiver, more like a big WR
Julian Love, S
Juan Thornhill, S
Melvin Ingram, DE
David Montgomery, RB (replacement for Mixon)
Larry Ogunjobi, DT
Matt Ioannidis, DT
Morgan Fox, DT

[Bengalbro]

Found this from PFF:

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2023-fr...gs-free-agency

I'm sure some guys will get tagged and/or signed between now and the start of FA, but based on this list (and I didn't include the top 20 guys from a $ standpoint), guys that would intrigue me are below. That said, even guys on this list - with the expanded cap - are likely to get hella $, so I wouldn't expect to see them be signed by the Bengals. More likely, it'll be sign your own guys, and sprinkle the roster with some mid-tier players. I bolded the guys that BengalBro had.

From the PFF list, I focused on interior DT/pass rush help, RB depth (in the case of Montgomery), and DB depth at either S or CB.

Dre'Mont Jones, DT
Zach Allen, DT
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, DB (versatile)
Kaleb McGary, OT
Byron Murphy, DB (versatile)
David Onyemata, DT
Jimmie Ward, S
Mike Gesicki, TE (doesn't block but very good receiver, more like a big WR
Julian Love, S
Juan Thornhill, S
Melvin Ingram, DE
David Montgomery, RB (replacement for Mixon)
Larry Ogunjobi, DT
Matt Ioannidis, DT
Morgan Fox, DT

Love everyone on that list

[JBandJoeyV]

one thing that makes me optimistic is they have been pretty good lately at finding outside FAs that they know will fit in our scheme and system. The free agent hit rate lately has been like 80 percent or something which I’d imagine is very high compared to leave average.

FA hits: Hendrickson, Reader, Chido, Apple, Hilton, Cappa, Karras, bell, hurst.
FA misses: Waynes and maybe Reiff/Collins although injuries had a big impact.


Not only do we have a high hit rate lately but they seem to know exactly who to target. Karras and Cappa probably weren’t the biggest FA names out there last year but we targeted them day one and got them done.

So I don’t expect us to go crazy this year in free agency but I expect them to target 2-4 guys that they think can be key contributors and go out and get them.

[texbengal]

one thing that makes me optimistic is they have been pretty good lately at finding outside FAs that they know will fit in our scheme and system. The free agent hit rate lately has been like 80 percent or something which I’d imagine is very high compared to leave average.

FA hits: Hendrickson, Reader, Chido, Apple, Hilton, Cappa, Karras, bell, hurst.
FA misses: Waynes and maybe Reiff/Collins although injuries had a big impact.


Not only do we have a high hit rate lately but they seem to know exactly who to target. Karras and Cappa probably weren’t the biggest FA names out there last year but we targeted them day one and got them done.

So I don’t expect us to go crazy this year in free agency but I expect them to target 2-4 guys that they think can be key contributors and go out and get them.

Yep the pro personnel guys have done splendidly. As you say, not always the biggest names (a few like Cappa and Reader were, IMO) but they've done a great job assessing and finding great fits for these guys.