Breaking Down Cincinnati Bengals' Likely Opening-Game Starting Lineup

The Cincinnati Bengals must move through three more preseason contests before making the trip to Oakland to encounter the Raiders in Week 1, but the starting lineup continues to cement as the summer continues. 

Granted, Cincinnati entered the summer as one of the teams with the smallest amount of turnover or potential lineup changes. Most positions on offense are set and a few transitions on defense have obvious answers.

The Bengals took care of business in 23-10 fashion against the New York Giants to kick off the preseason while depth players scrapped for roster spots. Maybe the biggest takeaway, though, was just how great the starters looked.

Within, let's take a look at a starting-lineup projection for Cincinnati's trip to Oakland, presuming each player remains healthy through the rest of the summer.

Quarterback

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QB: Andy Dalton

No surprise here.

Andy Dalton doesn't have any legitimate competition behind him this year. After his 3-of-3 effort for 31 yards and an easy score against the Giants, it doesn't look like he needs any.

Of course, it's early. Behind Dalton rests one of the summer's most interesting battles between Josh Johnson and AJ McCarron, provided the Bengals decide to keep just two quarterbacks.

Either way, Dalton isn't losing his spot and looked great in a brief splotch of playing time with certain key elements healthy and in the lineup.

Running Back

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RB: Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard, Rex Burkhead

Most times, Week 1 of the preseason doesn't reveal much about an eventual starting lineup.

Cincinnati's contest with the Giants did, though.

Raymond Summerlin of Rotoworld shared the scoop after an early drive: "Rex Burkhead has more snaps with the first-team offense than Gio Bernard on that drive."

It's a small sample size and odds are Bernard sees more time in the backfield than Burkhead, but it looks like all three names will earn "starter" status by Week 1. Hill is the workhorse, Bernard the spell. Burkhead is a change-of-pace option who can also line up in the slot as a wide receiver.

Wide Receiver and Tight End

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WR: A.J. Green, Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu

TE: Tyler Eifert, Ryan Hewitt

Health provided, there won't be much in the way of starter changes for the Bengals at wideout or tight end when the team heads to Oakland.

A.J. Green, Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu are the obvious starting three. There has been much said about Jones' lack of practice and playing deep into the team's first preseason game, but he's working his way back into NFL form—a No. 2 spot on the depth chart won't be hard for him to secure.

Tight end is simple. Tyler Eifert looked like a game-changing presence against the Giants and every bit the major contributor the staff wanted him to be last year. Ryan Hewitt will get a "start" in two-tight end sets by default with rookies on the depth chart behind him.

The real intrigue rests at the battle on the back end of the wideout depth chart, where Denarius Moore continues to look like the situational deep threat the offense needs and rookie Mario Alford looks like a bubble-screen player and return specialist. The starters, though, won't change.

Offensive Line

LT: Andrew Whitworth

LG: Clint Boling

C: Russell Bodine

RG: Kevin Zeitler

RT: Andre Smith

The Bengals trotted out one of the best offensive lines in the league last year despite injuries, so no, not much changes for the lineup this year going into Oakland.

Cincinnati received a lot of press for drafting offensive tackles in the first two rounds of this year's draft, but it was a forward-looking move. Andrew Whitworth enters 2015 coming off one of his best seasons as a pro, and nothing seems to motivate Andre Smith more than a contract year.

The guard positions are solid, too, with last year's weak point Russell Bodine perhaps improved with a year of experience under his belt.

There's room for turnover in this starting lineup thanks to veteran Eric Winston and rookie Jake Fisher, but only if there's a major collapse in performance or an injury. Next year, this might be a very different story.

Defensive Line

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LDE: Carlos Dunlap

NT: Pat Sims

DT: Geno Atkins

RDE: Michael Johnson

Nothing changes on the edges of Cincinnati's defensive line, provided Michael Johnson returns healthy and ready to go from his knee sprain in time for the opener.

Nose tackle is where things get iffy here. The coaching staff loves Domata Peko for his leadership and energy, but it was quite clear Pat Sims was the better player against the Giants.

Granted, it's one preseason game and this can change, but Sims looks better at this point in their respective careers. Should the trend hold, Sims should earn the "starter" label with Peko as a rotational player. 

That's how the Bengals do their damage with the line anyway. Margus Hunt, Wallace Gilberry and Will Clarke will see plenty of snaps throughout the season, and perhaps even against Oakland, despite not acting as starters.

Week 1, though, is all about the familiar faces, with a slight shuffle.

Linebacker

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SLB: Emmanuel Lamur

MLB: Rey Maualuga

WLB: Vontaze Burfict

This one is all about health.

If Rey Maualuga is good to go, he's the starter in the middle after a quality season last year. The team brought on A.J. Hawk to provide depth at a couple of the slots, but it's hard to imagine Maualuga will take a seat.

Vontaze Burfict remains the focal point, though. It still sounds like he's on the path to return for Week 1, per Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson:

"

Lewis likes the way WILL backer Vontaze Burfict is rehabbing from his microfracture knee surgery. Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther has been talking about getting him on the practice field the week of the Aug. 29 preseason game in Chicago in the effort to get him ready for Oakland. Lewis would only say he’ll continue to challenge Burfict.

"

If something changes there, Hawk can step into the void or rookie Paul Dawson could do much of the same if his strong form from the exhibition against the Giants continues.

For now, Emmanuel Lamur looks like the surefire starter on the strong side.

Defensive Back

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LCB: Dre Kirkpatrick

RCB: Adam Jones

Slot: Leon Hall

SS: George Iloka

FS: Reggie Nelson

The time has come for one of the young corners to step into a starting role. This year it's Dre Kirkpatrick on the outside, and he'll run with fellow starters Adam Jones and Leon Hall.

Nothing changes at safety, where the interchangeable Reggie Nelson and George Iloka continue to team up as one of the more underrated tandems in the league.

The thing with this starting lineup is it's never so simple as what's on paper. Cincinnati loves to bring on extra defensive backs, and this summer Hall has spent some time at safety. There are a variety of wrinkles capable of giving opposing offenses nightmares in the week leading up to a game, including Oakland.

Right now, Cincinnati looks deeper than it has in quite a while thanks to names such as Josh Shaw, Darqueze Dennard, Derron Smith, Troy Hill and others. The starting lineup won't change much, especially with starters able to rotate out at a consistent clip to stay fresh.

Special Teams

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P: Kevin Huber

K: Mike Nugent

LS: Clark Harris

PR: Adam Jones

KR: Mario Alford

The reliable trio remains cemented, those being Kevin Huber, Mike Nugent and Clark Harris. Continuity is key on special teams, so don't expect anything to change outside of an injury.

It's not easy to figure out what the coaching staff will do with punt returns. The team needs Jones healthy to start at corner, but then again, the aforementioned depth looks great and figures to let him keep the gig.

The change rests on kick returns, where Brandon Tate figures to lose his job to the explosive rookie Alford. He's a speed demon who already looks great on special teams and in the base offense, so expect the coaching staff to lean in favor of explosiveness and consistency.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and are accurate as of August 16. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.