Here's what Cincinnati Bengals coaching staff said about key offseason decisions

This is an important weekend for the Cincinnati Bengals.

As head coach Zac Taylor and his entire staff, every scout and front office member, including ownernship, gather in Indianapolis for the NFL’s annual scouting combine, important conversations are underway.

After finishing 9-8 and missing the playoffs, the Bengals enter a critical offseason. They are hoping to build a championship caliber roster and tough decisions must be made to do so.

Should the Bengals trade wide receiver Tee Higgins if a team offers the right compensation? What are the plans to find a starting safety, nose tackle and right tackle? Is it time to move on from running back Joe Mixon and acquire more youth in the running back room? Who will the Bengals draft with the No. 18 overall pick?

Annual report card: Bengals players say their locker room has major plumbing issues, ding cafeteria in survey

These are all questions the Bengals will be navigating over the next few weeks. Earlier this week, director of personnel Duke Tobin, Taylor and several members of his coaching staff addressed a number of these topics this week.

Here’s what we learned from the NFL combine:

Do the Cincinnati Bengals want to find an answer at right tackle?

For a third-straight year, the Bengals will be in the market for a starting right tackle as Jonah Williams is set to hit free agency in a few weeks. The Bengals don’t have anyone on their roster who appears ready to step in and start in his place. Will the Bengals seek another veteran or draft a prospect to close the revolving door?

“We would like to have somebody man the right tackle spot for a number of years, yes,” Tobin said. “We’d like it to be a young guy that can come in and do that or a veteran that might have the opportunity to rebuild his career, something. But yes, we would like that to be manned on multiple fronts. But we’re considered with having it manned well enough to provide us a chance to win next year. That’s the No. 1 thing. So, whether that’s a rookie on a four-year deal or a veteran on a 1-year deal, we’re open to anything there."

Will Dax Hill stay at safety for the Cincinnati Bengals?

After selecting Dax Hill in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, the hope was that Hill would become the Bengals’ starting free safety for years to come. But his first season as a starter didn’t go as planned. Hill struggled to be able to communicate and often failed to make plays when needed. To be a starting free safety in defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s scheme, strong communication skills is a requirement. The Bengals believe Hill has potential because of his athleticism but they are currently looking for the best position for him.

Hill played slot corner at the University of Michigan and according to Tobin, he can also play outside cornerback as well. So, what does the future hold for Hill? It’s an important discussion because if Cincinnati’s coaching staff believes he’s better suited to play at cornerback, the Bengals must acquire a new starting free safety.

“We’re still looking at everything,” Anarumo said of Hill’s future. “We look at not just Dax, but everybody last year when you have a year that wasn’t quite up to the standard. I think it’s just something you evaluate. ‘Hey, is this guy gonna be better here or there?’ But nothing in particular there. Just keep working on it.”

Cincinnati Bengals believe in Cordell Volson, but seek improvement

After a strong rookie season in 2022, Cordell Volson got off to a slow start in his second year as the Bengals’ starting left guard. It was an up and down season for Volson but leaving the Combine, it appears the Bengals’ coaching staff and front office believe he is the guy for the job moving forward.

“He took a step forward last year and grew some,” offensive line coach Frank Pollack said. “Like to see him do that even more this year. I think he finished the year going in the right direction. Maybe a little bit slower start than we had hoped.”

Pollack said the biggest area of growth Volson can make is with his foot speed.

“He’s not naturally fast-twitch, if you will, with his foot quicks,” Pollack said. “He’s gotta improve or be dialed in (with) his margin for error for everything else to improve how fast he plays with his feet. It just makes it that much more important with everything else so he plays not slower in that area.”

Expect the Bengals to seek defensive tackle, safety in free agency

League sources tell The Enquirer the Bengals are checking in and have shown interest in the safety market ahead of free agency. This makes sense given the uncertainty of where Hill fits in Cincinnati’s defense. It seems highly likely the Bengals will address the safety position with a veteran.Jordan Battle is expected to remain the Bengals’ starting strong safety after a solid first season with the club. Free safety is where Cincinnati has a hole. Is Anarumo’s preference to acquire a veteran player at the position after a failed experiment with two first and second year players starting as the safety duo for the Bengals?

Will the Bengals trade Tee Higgins? Here's why Cincinnati applied the franchise tag

“That’s always a conversation that is ongoing,” Anarumo said. “As we know, that’s something that when things can go sideways a little bit it usually starts back there with communication. The guys that have done it and have experience can always add to that. There’s a fine line with how it all fits. You start talking about veteran safeties and, oh by the way, the third safety has to play a lot of special teams. It’s a balancing act but everything is open and on the table right now.”

As for the defensive tackle spot, it remains the Bengals’ biggest hole. They must acquire a starting nose tackle and likely need a second staring caliber defensive tackle to pair with BJ Hill. DJ Reader is scheduled to become a free agent and is still recovering from a torn quad.

During the 2021 season when the Bengals advanced to Super Bowl 56, a key reason for their defensive success was the play of Larry Ogunjobi, Hill and Reader in the middle of Cincinnati’s defensive line.

So, does Anarumo feel at this point he needs at least three starters at defensive tackle?

“I think it’s a great, great point . . . ” Anarumo recalled of the trio of defensive linemen listed above. “You look at the teams that go far. Obviously great quarterbacks but dominant defensive lines are kind of a theme when we go forward. We got pieces in place for sure. As you mentioned, that year it was great to have Larry and that rotation of three. Josh would come in and he was the fourth and rotate with those guys. The more the merrier. If we had a d-line, d-tackles I’d be a happy guy.”The Bengals must be better against the run and rushing the passer to get back to playing postseason football next year. Restocking the defensive line would be a step in the right direction.

Will Brad Robbins return as the starting punter next season?

Expectations were high for Brad Robbins in his rookie season and the rookie put together an up and down season. Special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons remains positive on Robbins, though.

"I think there's certainly a lot of room for improvement for sure,” Simmons said of Robbins. “He got off to about as rough as start as you could possibly get into. We play in the opener in Cleveland and he punts 11 times. It's in the rain and it's in a difficult place to punt in the first place. So I mean he got off to historically about the the worst start you possibly could. I think he evolved some. I certainly think there's still a lot of meat left on the bone for him. And so I think I don't want to overreact here. I think that's part of my job is to help develop him and make him better. And so I think you can do that. I think he is the right mindset. He's very open to him, you know things that we bring up in techniques. We might want to change a little bit the to help that production, but it's certainly an area we got to get better at quick."

Simmons said the Bengals plan to bring in competition for Robbins this offseason, but all signs point to Robbins getting another chance to be the starter next season.

What are the realistic expectations for a tight end in the Bengals’ offense?

The Bengals need to find a long-term solution at tight end. For the last two seasons, the Bengals took the one-year prove it approach at the position. Given the current state of the Bengals’ roster and the fact Tyler Boyd is expected to hit free agency and Tee Higgins likely gone after next season, Cincinnati needs a dominant tight end to pair with Burrow for years to come.

So, with so much talent on the outside at receiver, what is the realistic expectation for the position in Cincinnati’s offense?

First-year offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher provided his thoughts on what the Bengals are looking for.

“As we see across the league, having a dynamic play-making tight end can really change your offense,"  Pitcher said. “And so that's not something where it's like, 'Oh, we're not interested in that.' Now you've just got to decide what do you want to forego to acquire that. But we'll figure out the best way to make it work."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals 2024 offseason strategy for NFL draft, offseason