The Cincinnati Bengals will be active at the running back position this offseason with the fate of Joe Mixon’s future with the team a question mark and Samaje Perine a free agent.
It could be a draft and free agency approach for the team on this front as coaches seek more three-down players at the position and less predictable prep work for opponents before and during games.
In free agency, it’s apparently time to keep an eye on Jamaal Williams of the Detroit Lions.
According to Tyler Dunne of Go Long, the Bengals are one of a handful of teams “very interested” in Williams, the 27-year-old former fourth-round pick who spent the last two seasons in Detroit after four years in Green Bay.
In the first workhorse-type year of his career, Williams posted a career-high 1,066 rushing yards (4.1 average) and 17 touchdowns, but only caught 12 passes all seasons.
Williams will turn 28 in April and he’s more of a two-down back, so if the Bengals are showing interest, it might be because they view his market as affordable and envision him slotting well in a specific type of committee — potentially alongside an every-down draft pick, perhaps.
While we’ve suggested the Bengals should look at someone like James Robinson, Williams could be a nice, productive fit, too at the right price as one part of a complicated backfield puzzle.
