Zack Moss” Said He Will Never Play With Cincinnati Bengals Again Till Coach Zachary William Taylor Will Leave Before He Will Return….
Running back Zack Moss had several suitors in free agency, including the Dallas Cowboys. Ultimately though, Moss ended up signing a two-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.
During a recent appearance on Up and Adams, Moss explained why he picked Cincinnati over other options, like Dallas. The team’s offensive approach and personnel were emphasized as determining factors.
“Cincy just made the most sense,” Moss said. “From the structure of the offense and how the offense is played, and kind of the scheme of the offense and what they want to do. It’s a lot of shotgun offense, a lot of inside zone gap scheme runs and things of that nature.
“It’s hard to turn down a guy like [Joe] Burrow, guys like [Ja’Marr] Chase and [Tee] Higgins and just all the talent on both sides of the ball,” he added. “It’s so much space, that really intrigued me,” Moss said. “Being able to play in a box when you only got six guys, maybe seven and if there’s seven, it’s kind of gonna be real hard for them defend the pass game. So it’s just something that I was like very, very intrigued about and super excited to be a Bengal.”
After putting together a career-best campaign in Indianapolis last season, Moss is expected to have a heavy workload replacing Joe Mixon in Cincinnati in 2024. Moss will join second-year runner Chase Brown in Cincinnati’s new-look backfield, though Moss is clearly the more experienced player in the duo. Brown tallied just 44 attempts for 179 total yards as a rookie last season.
While the addition of Moss is a boon for the Bengals, missing out on him is tough for the Cowboys given the current state of their running back depth chart. Dallas lost Tony Pollard in free agency, and didn’t sign any veteran backs to take his place. They now have a lack of experience at the position, and while they could still draft a back, there’s little reason for fans in Dallas to feel good about what the Cowboys ground game will look like next season.
While the Bengals boast prolific playmakers in wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, tight end could be a position in focus for Cincinnati early in the 2024 NFL Draft.
As draft weekend nears, Pro Football Focus suggests adding Brock Bowers in the first round would be a “pipe dream” scenario for the Cincinnati Bengals.
“This may be a pipe dream,” Dalton Wasserman writes for PFF. “But we have to wonder how quickly Cincinnati would run the card in if Brock Bowers were available with the 18th pick in the draft. Joe Burrow has never played with an elite tight end. Even though the team signed Mike Gesicki, they should certainly be tempted to take Bowers if given the chance.”
Bowers is widely viewed as the top tight end prospect in this year’s class, and a potentially game-altering weapon in waiting.
Last season, Bowers caught 56 passes for 714 yards with six touchdowns while averaging 12.8 yards per reception.
“Prolific pass-catching tight end with a rare blend of acceleration, speed, body control and hands,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein writes of Bowers. “That could breathe new life into a stale NFL offense. Bowers was a high-volume target at Georgia and led the team in receiving yards in all three of his college seasons. He plays with relentless pacing as a route runner, allowing him to beat man coverage.
“Also, he’s highly effective at exploiting zone pockets for first downs and chunk plays. Bowers’ secret sauce might be his ability to rip through tacklers and pile on yardage after the catch. He’ll be an adequate move blocker and give effort at the point of attack, but that is the one area where his game falls short of George Kittle’s, for comparison purposes.”
If Bowers can live up to the comparisions to George Kittle, and he lands in Burrow’s arsenail, he would represent the most complete and prolific tight end that Burrow has had at his disposal to date in his career.
How Bowers Fits Cincinnati Bengals’ Offense
Gesicki’s arrival in Cincinnati could be more as a complementary piece, rather than the type of player who jumps to the top of the depth chart.
During Bowers’ career at the University of Georgia, Bowers pulled down 15 touchdowns in the red-zone, catching 29 passes inside the 20-yard line, where he might have the chance to make the most significant impact on the Bengals’ offense and build Burrow’s trust the quickest.
