The Cincinnati Bengals might be a dark horse in the Saquon Barkley sweepstakes, but they would be a good landing spot for the star running back.
The Bengals already have Joe Mixon, who just had 1,410 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns this past season. However, Mixon is heading into the last year of his contract, and the Bengals already made him restructure his deal this past offseason.
The Bengals would clear $6.1 million in cap space by trading or releasing Mixon. They already have $61.4 million in room, so they'd have plenty of space to sign Barkley and address some of their other needs via free agency.
Mixon is also far less explosive than Barkley. He was 15th among running backs in rushing success rate this past season, but he was 41st in breakaway run rate and 22nd in breakaway runs, per Player Profiler. Barkley ranked 41st among running backs in rushing success rate, but he was more explosive, ranking 15th in breakaway run rate and eighth in breakaway runs.
The Bengals offensive line might not be elite, but it is an upgrade over the Giants' unit. If they are looking to add more firepower to their ground game, Barkley could be a consideration.
If the Bengals franchise-tag Tee Higgins, they'd have a one-year window with an offense that features a healthy Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Higgins and Barkley. No defensive coordinators would want to see that.
