Brad Kragthorpe

Brad Kragthorpe in 2020 enters his second Bengals and NFL season, and will again serve as offensive assistant, primarily assisting with the quarterbacks.

This year, Kragthorpe will help usher Joe Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft, into the starting quarterback role. Kragthorpe brings unique perspective as the only coach on the Bengals' staff to have previously worked with Burrow. The two were together at LSU in 2018, when Kragthorpe was an offensive analyst and Burrow was in his first season with the Tigers after transferring from Ohio State. Kragthorpe helped Burrow, who could not practice with the LSU team until July, with his fast-tracked transition into the Tigers' offense. Burrow then went on to be named team captain in preseason camp, start all 13 games and lead the Tigers to a 10-3 record. He tossed 16 TDs to just five INTs (fewest by a starting QB in the SEC) in 2018, paving the way for a plus-12 turnover differential, the seventh-best in the country.

Last season, Kragthorpe and the Bengals' offensive staff helped key a massive offensive turnaround over the final eight games of the season. The Bengals averaged 70.6 more rushing yards per game in the second half of the season (130.1) than the first (59.5), and their average rushing yards per attempt jumped 1.26 yards (3.17 to 4.43) over the the same span. Cincinnati's pass-blocking effort also showed substantial improvement, allowing 10 fewer sacks over the final eight games compared to the first eight.

Prior to his time at LSU, Kragthorpe spent two seasons as an offensive graduate assistant coach at Utah State University from 2016-17. He worked with the Aggies' wide receivers and assisted with scouting reports.

Before entering the coaching ranks, Kragthorpe was a college quarterback. He opened his collegiate career at Idaho State in 2011 (did not play), and then transferred to Louisiana State for his final three years of eligibility. After sitting out the 2012 season at LSU due to NCAA transfer rules, he served as a reserve QB for the Tigers from 2013-15 and appeared in 25 career games. Kragthorpe served as the Tigers' primary holder on placekicks for his final two seasons, and in 2015 was part of one of college football's signature plays when, on a fake FG attempt against rival Florida, he threw a backward pass to K Trent Dominigue, who then raced 16 yards for what proved to be the game-winning score in a 28-21 LSU win.

Kragthorpe was born March 2, 1992, in Flagstaff, Ariz. He attended Holland High School in Tulsa, Okla., where he was a standout in both football and baseball. His grandfather, Dave Kragthorpe, was a college head coach at South Dakota State (1969), Idaho State ('80-82) and Oregon State ('85-90). At Idaho State in 1981, Dave Kragthorpe was head coach during former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis' first season as a football coach (Lewis coached the team's linebackers), and the pair helped lead ISU to a 12-1 finish and Division I-AA National Title.

Playing and coaching history: 2011—Played quarterback, Idaho State. 2012-15—Played quarterback, Louisiana State. 2016-17—Graduate assistant coach, Utah State. 2018—Assistant coach (AC), Louisiana State. 2019-present—AC, Cincinnati Bengals.