The Bengals have announced their official Week 1 depth chart for Sunday’s matchup against the New York Jets.
There aren’t many surprises, though, the team has listed Brandon LaFell ahead of Tyler Boyd on the depth chart. That seems to be a fluid and prove-it situation though and we will see in Week 1 how the snaps are distributed. How well LaFell and Boyd play to start the season will likely shape the snap count and depth chart moving forward.
Missing from the depth chart is Vontaze Burfict who is currently suspended. Though, when he returns in Week 4, he will take over the starting WILL linebacker role.
On special teams, Adam Jones is listed as the No. 1 kick and punt returner. It will be interesting to see how accurate that proves to be though as his role on defense will surely be extensive as a starting cornerback and defensive captain. Will the Bengals want to risk using him on special teams with frequency? It likely depends on how confident they are in rookie Alex Erickson, the team’s No. 2 returner on the depth chart.
The defensive line depth is also a point of interest as behind the starters, there are many questions and much uncertainty. Only eight players are taking up defensive line roster spots and it’s unclear whether that will change before Sunday. Either way, if someone is signed prior to Sunday’s game, they likely would not play in Week 1.
Here is the Bengals’ official Week 1 depth chart:
Offense:
WR 1: A.J. Green, James Wright, Cody Core
LOT: Andrew Whitworth, Jake Fisher
LG: Clint Boling, Trey Hopkins
C: Russell Bodine, T.J. Johnson
RG: Kevin Zeitler, Christian Westerman
ROT: Cedric Ogbuehi, Eric Winston
TE: Tyler Eifert, Tyler Kroft
HB/TE: Ryan Hewitt, C.J. Uzomah
WR 2: Brandon LaFell, Tyler Boyd, Alex Erickson
QB: Andy Dalton, AJ McCarron, Jeff Driskel
HB: Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard, Rex Burkhead
Defense:
LDE: Carlos Dunlap, Margus Hunt
NT: Domata Peko, Pat Sims
DT: Geno Atkins, DeShawn Williams
RDE: Michael Johnson, Will Clarke
SLB: Karlos Dansby, Marquis Flowers
MLB: Rey Maualuga, Trevor Roach
WLB: Vincent Rey, Nick Vigil
LCB: Dre Kirkpatrick, Chris Lewis-Harris, Josh Shaw
RCB: Adam Jones, Darqueze Dennard, Chykie Brown
SS: Shawn Williams, Clayton Fejedelem
FS: George Iloka, Derron Smith
Special Teams:
P: Kevin Huber
K: Mike Nugent
LS: Clark Harris
H: Kevin Huber
PR: Adam Jones, Alex Erickson, Tyler Boyd
KOR: Adam Jones, Alex Erickson, Rex Burkhead