Bengals' weapon-heavy draft sets up Dalton for do-or-die season

Ready or not. It's Andy Dalton time.

If the Cincinnati Bengals were ever going to put pressure on themselves to have a do-or-die season, 2017 is going to be the occasion and Dalton will be in the middle.

The seventh-year pro is entering the last season of his contract without any real job security. Though he has three seasons remaining after 2017, he will also have just $2.4 million left in dead-cap money and could easily be cut.

After his six seasons without a playoff win (adding to the Bengals' 26-year drought), the NFL has a pretty good idea of who Dalton is: a game-managing quarterback who plays as well as the offense around him and disappears in big games.

As you may have guessed, teams can't win playoff games - let alone Super Bowls - with a quarterback who doesn't play well in big games.

Bengals longtime head coach Marvin Lewis is also entering this year with an expiring contract and doesn't expect to get an extension prior to the season beginning.

Coming off the team's worst record in the Dalton era, both quarterback and head coach must know that another 10-win season without a playoff victory won't cut it with ownership or the fan base. So, at the draft, the Bengals made sure to get Dalton the weapons necessary to determine if he can reach the next level.

With the ninth pick of the first round, the Bengals added speedster John Ross to the receiver group as the third pass-catcher off the board in a surprising top-10 selection.

Ross should round out the Bengals' receiving corps after they took slot specialist Tyler Boyd in the second round last year and had A.J. Green return from injury this spring. With Green and Ross as legitimate home-run threats lining up on the outside, Boyd and Tyler Eifert keeping the middle of the field occupied, there should be more room for the weapons coming out of the backfield.

With the 16th pick of the second round, the Bengals made the controversial decision to draft running back Joe Mixon, whose assault of a female student in 2014 was caught on video.

Mixon likely would have been a first-round pick had it not been for his off-field problems and now joins a backfield already populated by Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard. The Oklahoma product is a proficient pass-catcher who can compete with both Hill and Bernard to be an option on every down.

The rest of the Bengals draft went to upgrading the defensive line - with pass-rushers Jordan Willis and Carl Lawson - and finding depth throughout the latter rounds. However, the team avoided a major need many believed to be crucial.

Cincinnati's offensive line took two major hits this spring. Guard Kevin Zeitler and left tackle Andrew Whitworth were both lost to free agency. Though, the Bengals did try replacing them via the draft. This really only feeds into the idea that the Bengals are pumping up the pressure on Dalton.

For one, young offensive linemen rarely come into the league and make an impact right away because of the huge gap in difficulty between blocking in college and blocking in the pros. If the team wanted to fill holes on the offensive line for next season, signing veterans in free agency was the answer - especially with this year's draft only seeing four O-linemen taken in the top 62.

By opting to add weapons instead of reaching for offensive linemen, the Bengals may also be testing Dalton to see if he can become an elite passer.

With a capable offensive line that can provide extra time in the pocket, any quarterback can look better than they really are (see Matt Cassel in 2008), but the elite talents of the league can lead dominant offenses that have stronger weapons than it does blockers.

Aaron Rodgers has done it. Ben Roethlisberger has done it. Tom Brady has done it. Drew Brees has done it. Russell Wilson does it, too. The list goes on and on.

Whether he's ready or not, Dalton will be put to the test in 2017 - as he should be. Becoming content with mediocrity is not an acceptable philosophy to present to a loyal fan base.

With Ross and Mixon coming into an offense that is now filled with weapons, Dalton's time to sink or swim has come. If the Bengals have another top-10 draft pick next spring, you can bet a quarterback will be in play.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)