The Cincinnati Bengals have a clean offensive line story to tell before training camp.
They have continuity with five starters back, but NFL analyst Warren Sharp still placed them near the bottom of the league.
Sharp Was Critical of the Bengals’ O-Line
Sharp ranked the Bengals’ offensive line No. 28 in his 2026 offensive line rankings, putting Cincinnati in a familiar and uncomfortable place before the season even starts. The ranking came with more than a number.
1. Denver Broncos 2. Philadelphia Eagles 3. Buffalo Bills 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5. Los Angeles Rams 6. Chicago Bears 7. San Francisco 49ers 8. Los Angeles Chargers 9. Seattle Seahawks 10. Atlanta Falcons 11. Indianapolis Colts 12. Carolina
Sharp later pointed to the Bengals ranking No. 28 in pass block win rate last season, while also allowing the third-most pressure, the second-most non-blitz pressure and the seventh-shortest time-to-sack.
Sharp also noted the primary offensive line combo of Orlando Brown Jr., Dylan Fairchild, Ted Karras, Dalton Risner and Amarius Mims produced 3.9 yards per carry, minus-0.09 EPA per rush, a 12.8% stuff rate and 1.29 yards before contact per attempt on running back runs.
Allowed #3 most pressure, #2 most non-blitz pressure, #7 shortest time-to-sack
RB runs in primary OL combo (Brown-Fairchild-Karras-Risner-Mims):
3.9 YPC, -0.09 EPA/rush, 12.8% stuff rate, 1.29 YBC/att
which rank
The Bengals can have Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the same field and still make life harder than it needs to be with a porous offensive line.
The ball can come out fast, and Burrow can cover up problems with elite receivers winning early.
At some point, though, a team with Super Bowl expectations needs its offensive line to hold up without the quarterback solving every snap.
Continuity Gives Bengals a Clear Counterargument
The Bengals’ own roster outlook shows why the team can push back against the ranking.
Cincinnati’s current depth chart lists Brown at left tackle, Fairchild at left guard, Karras at center, Risner at right guard and Mims at right tackle.
Bengals.com also noted Cincinnati returns all five starting linemen from last season, along with depth pieces Cody Ford and Jalen Rivers.
Burrow leaned into that point.
“To have all these guys back is a big advantage early in the season,” Burrow said. “You don’t have young guys trying to fit into the mix and learn the communication on the fly.”
Additionally, Jay Morrison of SI.com noted that the Bengals offensive line improved in the second half of the season. So Sharp’s analysis for 2026 could lean on the pessimistic side.
There is further information for optimism from Bengals.com.
Fairchild had the fourth-highest PFF offensive grade among rookie offensive linemen with at least 100 snaps. Meanwhile, he has the second-highest pass-blocking grade.
Risner graded as a top-25 guard, while Mims played all 17 games and allowed a 5.3% pressure rate
Mims may be the swing piece.
PFF named him to its 2026 All-Breakout Team, noting he earned an 81.0 overall grade from Weeks 12-18 last season, allowed no sacks in that stretch and produced a 76.6 run-blocking grade.
The case against the Bengals is the same one Sharp laid out.
A line can return intact and still return with the same issues. A young tackle can rise and still need the whole unit to climb with him. A quarterback can praise continuity and still need more clean pockets.
The Bengals do not need the NFL’s best offensive line to have one of the league’s best offenses.
With Burrow, Chase and Higgins, they rarely need perfect.
Bengals’ Important Position Group Ranks Among Worst in NFL