NFL executives are fans of the Bengals’ offseason so far

The Bengals have set themselves up nicely going into the draft.

The first major wave of the offseason is over as the free agency flurry calms down prior to the NFL Draft.

Mike Sando from The Athletic talked with some NFL executives to get their perspectives on every team’s moves so far. For the most part, it was really positive for the Cincinnati Bengals.

“You keep your receiving corps together for the most part in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, with the quarterback getting healthy, and you add a good receiving tight end in Mike Gesicki to give them something they did not have last year,” an executive said. “Zack Moss is a good back. It is almost a wash if you say Mixon versus him, even if they are different styles.”

The additions of Gesicki and offensive tackle Trent Brown could be exciting additions to this offense. The other thing those additions do is keep them from being major needs going into the draft, even if they are both on one-year deals.

Moss could do some serious damage with the light boxes he is about to see. He is coming from an offense with the Indianapolis Colts that also frequently ran from shotgun. That was something that Joe Mixon wasn’t best suited for. Also, Gesicki hopefully gives the team more than the last rent-a-tight end, Irv Smith Jr., in the passing game. If you even see a marginal improvement from those positions, it will be a huge difference.

The one thing executives seemed to have an issue with was the loss of defensive lineman DJ Reader.

“Their whole identity changed defensively when D.J. Reader was hurt, which is why I think losing him was big,” another exec said. “What Reader was able to do might not have been on the stat sheet, but he allowed those linebackers to play free.”

Any Bengals fan who has seriously watched the team since Zac Taylor took over knows how important Reader has been to the defense’s success. His ability to shut down runs up the middle or force a run in a different direction than it should go just can’t be captured without watching the game. Sheldon Rankins is an upgrade in the pass-rushing department up the middle, but Reader has left some huge pairs of shoes to fill at nose tackle, and you have to wonder if that replacement can be found before the season.

The executives also liked the addition of Vonn Bell returning to a system he fit in, but they wondered about Geno Stone outside of Baltimore. You’d like to think that Stone playing the middle of the field in this defense will at least be an upgrade over trying to have Dax Hill fill that role.

It is nice to see that Cincinnati is getting some praise from around the league, as that hasn’t always been the case. Maybe actually having results changed a few minds.