One Big Change Coming For The Offense

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The Bengals were 31st in under-center percentage last season, and the top five teams in that category were all in the top quarter of the league in explosive plays. Dan Pitcher saw the same numbers and said plainly: "The data would suggest you got to have a component of your offense that allows you to get under center and attack the defense."

Burrow is on board. He worked those drops repeatedly throughout OTAs and laid out the whole evolution himself, heavy under center early in his career, then shotgun when it worked, now back the other way because defenses have caught up. The Bengals have never cracked the top 10 in explosive play rate with Burrow. A 22nd-ranked explosive offense with a new wrinkle that the entire league has been exploiting looks a lot more dangerous.

Zac Taylor told Solomon Wilcots this week that Burrow's confidence will always be the priority when calling plays. He described a system where he gives Burrow two calls before a play and lets him choose the one he's most comfortable with. Taylor said Burrow texts him new ideas 15 minutes after the base pass install.

Dan Pitcher used the phrase "blunt and immediate" to describe Burrow's feedback to teammates this spring. Burrow himself said he's been "a little more vocal in a mean way." Guard Dalton Risner put it plainly: "It's Joe Burrow. He can't bring anyone down, no matter what Joe Burrow says to you." After a few years of watching this team underperform the talent at the top, the shift in approach feels earned.

ESPN's Bill Barnwell ranked every team's playmaker core and put Cincinnati third in the league, behind only the Rams and Lions. Burrow-Chase tops NFL.com's list of the best QB-receiver duos heading into 2026, and Chase leads all receivers in catches and yards since 2023 in a stretch where Burrow missed 31 percent of the games.

On a related note, Pete Prisco's Top 100 is out, and the Bengals put four players on it. Chase comes in at No. 4, up from No. 8 last year. Burrow sits right behind him at No. 5, which is notable given he played eight games in 2025. Tee Higgins checks in at No. 89, and Dexter Lawrence rounds out the group at No. 91.

Also, Torry Holt was on Kay Adams' show and picked Chase as the most likely receiver in football to crack Calvin Johnson's 1,964-yard record. Chase is 26. He already had 125 catches, 1,412 yards, and eight touchdowns last year in a season where Burrow played eight games. He's talking about 2,000. He's also sitting out Week 1. One suspended game won't derail any of this, but it's a strange note to carry into what could be a historic year.

Lawrence has been present at every voluntary and mandatory session since the trade. Every one. Taylor said he was "shocked." Allen didn't come here for a contract. He came here because of Burrow. "You can tell when someone is trying to be a fake leader. With Joe, you can tell a natural leader. That's why guys like me come here."

Six of the last seven Super Bowl champions featured an elite pass-rushing defensive tackle. Lawrence posted three straight years of 89-plus PFF grades before last season dipped him to 75.6. If he bounces back to that level, and Allen gives them the interior push they haven't had in years, this defense looks entirely different.

Separately, Bryan Cook may be the most underrated addition of the bunch. Geno Stone's missed tackle rate last season was 20 percent. Cook's was 5.6. The Bengals gave up long touchdowns constantly last year because the back end couldn't make the final play. Jordan Battle, entering a contract year himself, said he can already feel it: "Dex is going to take up a lot of attention, so that will help us in the back end. For me, I can already see a difference those guys are going to make."

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