To say the Cincinnati Bengals have improved during this quick trip to free agency would be an understatement.
But just how much? It’s not an easy thing to quantify but some advanced metrics sure don’t hurt. Over at Pro Football Focus, as noted in a chart by Evan McPhillips below, the Bengals rank among the 10 most-improved teams so far.
PFF’s improvement index is an algorithm assigning value to assets gained and lost to develop a WAR.
And let’s just say the Bengals have added a lot.
The Bengals nabbed one of free agency’s biggest wins with elite defensive lineman D.J. Reader. That move alone would probably put the Bengals above most on an improvement index.
But in the following hours and days, the Bengals also boosted the secondary with the tandem of Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander. Offensive lineman Xavier Su’a-Filo might not move the needle as much as the corners, but adding to a position of need can’t be too much of a setback.
And speaking of setbacks, losing names like Darqueze Dennard and Andrew Billings isn’t great — but the Bengals have more than offset the losses.
It’s rare to see the Bengals rank highly in areas like this but it speaks to the turnaround in philosophy and the intent to fix things after a two-win campaign.
