The Cincinnati Bengals have already addressed the most of their significant needs through free agency. They added a tight end, defensive tackle, and right tackle, but the task is not finished. The Bengals still need to add depth at several spots, including nose tackle and cornerback.
The Bengals have a solid core of cornerbacks in Cam Taylor-Britt, DJ Turner, and Mike Hilton, but there is no standout choice for CB4 on the roster. Jalen Davis has been an effective slot backup, Allan George is a practice squad cornerback, and DJ Ivey has shown some promise in camp but not enough to take over as starter if an injury occurs.
There’s Dax Hill, but we’re not sure how Lou Anarumo plans to use his 2022 first-round choice.
The Bengals prefer corners in the first round, but another option might be to delve back into the free agent pool and persuade recently released Xavien Howard to come to Cincinnati (if Hilton hasn’t already).
Howard wants to win a Super Bowl, and the Bengals are one of the few teams that can legitimately declare themselves contenders. The Bengals would start Howard opposite CTB and Hilton in the slot, with Turner serving as a solid CB4 and rotational corner to keep everyone fresh throughout the season. On top of that, Paul Dehner Jr. reminds out that Anarumo was a defensive backs coach with the Dolphins early in Howard’s career, thus the two have a history.
Howard agreed to a five-year, $90 million contract with $36.3 million fully guaranteed before the 2022 season. He was an All-Pro in 2018 (second team) and 2020 (first team), and he has four Pro Bowl appearances. He is also the two-time NFL interceptions leader.
At 30, he aims to add a Super Bowl to his Hall of Fame resume. The Bengals are just as excellent a squad as any to get him what he wants.
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