The Bengals' Love Affair With Running Back Depth Is Exactly What Cincinnati's Offense Doesn't Need Right Now

Let me be crystal clear about something that everyone in the national media seems to be missing when they talk about the Cincinnati Bengals and their draft strategy heading into the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bengals are about to make a mistake that could define their entire offseason, and frankly, nobody is calling them out hard enough on it. They're reportedly looking at Jeremiah Love as a potential first-round option, and this is the kind of thinking that keeps good organizations from becoming great ones. This is the kind of draft strategy that makes you wonder if the decision makers in Cincinnati are paying attention to what actually wins football games in the modern NFL.

Here's the reality that needs to be stated plainly. The Cincinnati Bengals have Joe Burrow. They have one of the most talented quarterbacks in professional football, a guy who can sling it with precision and accuracy when he has time and when he has weapons around him. But you know what they don't have enough of? Protection. They don't have enough playmakers on the outside. They don't have enough defensive difference makers. What they absolutely do not need is another running back in the first round when they just paid Evan McPherson to restructure his deal and continue being their main offensive weapon outside of Burrow's arm.

The obsession with investing premium draft capital in the running back position has become one of the most backward-thinking trends in modern football evaluation. Yes, I understand the argument. Yes, I see the mock drafts with Jeremiah Love going to Cincinnati in Round 1. Yes, I understand that some evaluators believe that adding another talented back to pair with whoever else is in that backfield would make this offense more dynamic. But this is precisely the kind of thinking that separates teams that make the playoffs from teams that actually win playoff games. The Bengals need to be the latter, not the former.

When you look at what the Kansas City Chiefs have done under Andy Reid, when you look at what the Buffalo Bills continue to do under Sean McDermott, when you look at what the Detroit Lions have accomplished under Ben Johnson and Dan Campbell, the common thread is not investing heavily in the running back position. These teams understand that in 2025, football is won in the trenches on both sides of the ball. It's won with dominant pass rushers. It's won with corners who can lock down receivers in the secondary. It's won with receivers who can create separation at the line of scrimmage and use their athleticism to make defenders look foolish. It is not won by having a committee of running backs that you're rotating through on offense.

The Bengals have needs that are far more pressing than running back. Let me list them out for you because this should not be complicated. First, they need cornerback depth and possibly a starter. The secondary is not set up to compete with the elite offenses in the AFC. Second, they need edge rush help. You cannot ask your defensive line to generate pressure without help, and the Bengals need more bodies who can get to the quarterback consistently. Third, they need offensive line help. Yes, they made some moves, but there are still question marks about their interior protection, and if Burrow is getting hit the way he has been getting hit, adding another running back is not going to solve that problem.

Here's what infuriates me about the Jeremiah Love proposition at the first-round level. The Bengals are essentially saying, "We believe that by adding another talented back, we can make up for deficiencies everywhere else on this roster." That's not how championship football works. That's not how you build a sustainable winner. That's how you build a team that makes the wild card round and then loses in January when it matters most. The Bengals have already proven they can reach the Super Bowl. Joe Burrow has shown he can will a team to victory when the circumstances are right. What they need now is to build around him in a way that actually protects him and gives him the best chance to win a championship.

Jeremiah Love is a talented player. I'm not going to sit here and tell you he isn't. The kid can run. He's got good vision when he's in the game. He understands how to operate in an offensive system. But the question isn't whether Love is talented. The question is whether a running back in the first round is the best use of a pick when you have the holes that Cincinnati has. The answer is emphatically no. It's not even close. It's not a conversation worth having.

The evaluation should be simple. You look at the Bengals roster. You identify the weaknesses. You prioritize those weaknesses based on impact potential. A starting-caliber cornerback impacts every single play on the defensive side of the ball. An edge rusher who can generate consistent pressure changes the complexion of your entire defense. A receiver who creates consistent separation opens up your offense in ways that a running back simply cannot. A running back, no matter how talented he is, touches the football on maybe 15 to 20 percent of the offensive plays in any given game. He is not the focal point of the offense in the modern NFL. That focal point is the quarterback and the receivers around him.

If the Bengals want to win a Super Bowl with Joe Burrow, they need to be thinking like the Chiefs, like the Bills, like the Lions. They need to be building with a quarterback-centric model that maximizes Burrow's strengths and minimizes his weaknesses. They need to be investing in defense, in receivers, in offensive line depth, and in the foundation that allows their quarterback to operate at the highest level possible. Adding Jeremiah Love to the roster does not accomplish any of those objectives.

The narrative around this Bengals team has been that they're "almost there." They've been to the Super Bowl. They've made it to the AFC Championship Game. They're close. But you know what close looks like? It looks exactly like what they've been doing. The teams that actually break through and win championships are the ones that make the hard decisions. They're the ones that say, "We're going to take a corner instead of a running back because we know that's where we're weak." They're the ones that say, "We're going to prioritize defense because we understand that defense wins when it matters most." The Bengals need to be that team. They're not doing that by drafting Jeremiah Love in the first round.

VERDICT: The Bengals should not draft Jeremiah Love in Round 1. This would be a significant mistake that prioritizes depth in a low-impact position over addressing real roster weaknesses. Cincinnati needs to think like a championship organization, not a team settling for perpetual playoff contention. Address the secondary, get your defensive line reinforced, and then worry about running back depth later. Grade: Incomplete decision making that needs serious recalibration. A running back is not the answer.