The Cincinnati Bengals spent the last two offseason in free agency, making DJ Reader the highest-paid nose tackle in 2020 while also adding safety Vonn Bell. They then signed defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who had a monster year for Cincinnati in 2021.
Don’t let that convince you that the Bengals have been spending without purpose though.
The real improvement for Cincinnati has come via the NFL Draft, not free agency. Players like Tyler Boyd, Sam Hubbard, Jessie Bates III, Jonah Williams and Germaine Pratt all started this movement prior to the Joe Burrow years.
Then in 2020, the Bengals took their drafting to the next level, adding Burrow, Tee Higgins and Logan Wilson in the first three rounds.