The Cincinnati Bengals went through a huge period of disappointment after not making the playoffs for years, but under head coach Marvin Lewis the franchise has turned things around and after two straight playoffs appearances with quarterback Andy Dalton, the team is ready to take the next step.

According to Pro Football Talk, the Bengals have signed rookie running back Giovani Bernard to a contract, giving them another prime offensive player to take a look at in OTA workouts before training camp. The team focused more on offense in the draft to give Dalton more weapons along with AJ Green and Jermaine Gresham and now they have another solid running back to add to the rushing game with BenJarvis Green-Ellis. The team now has two draft picks left to sign in Tyler Eifert and Shawn Williams, but both deals are expected to get done soon.

Eifert could be a huge addition for Dalton, as he is big and has excellent hands coming out of Notre Dame and he can give the Bengals the option of running two tight end sets with Gresham on offense like the Patriots like to do with Rob Gronkowsi and Aaron Hernandez. Eifert was the first round pick for the team and after losing to the Texans in the first round the past two seasons, the Bengals feel they have a roster that can compete in the AFC and win the North division over the Steelers and the Ravens.

Bernard comes to the team out of North Carolina and the team thought of him as a better talent than both Eddie Lacy and Montee Ball and now they add him to an already talented offense with Dalton at the helm. Bernard averaged nearly six yards per carry during his time with the Tar Heels and he rushed for over 1,200 yards during the past two seasons. He proved that he could make plays out of the backfield with the ball and his explosiveness is something that the Bengals were looking for out of the running back position.