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Brad Kragthorpe in 2023 enters his fifth Bengals and NFL season, and his first in the role of assistant quarterbacks coach. He spent the 2019-20 seasons as an offensive assistant with the Bengals, and the '21-22 campaigns as assistant wide receivers coach.

Brad Kragthorpe in 2023 enters his fifth Bengals and NFL season, and his first in the role of assistant quarterbacks coach. He spent the 2019-20 seasons as an offensive assistant with the Bengals, and the '21-22 campaigns as assistant wide receivers coach.

Kragthorpe has worked with a talented receiving corps that features Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins and the 2021 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Ja'Marr Chase, who Kragthorpe previously coached at LSU in 2018. The three star wideouts combined for 3374 receiving yards in 2021, the most by any trio in the NFL. Chase, the team's first-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, recorded the most receiving yards by a first-year player in the Super Bowl era (1455) while grabbing 13 receiving TDs. He and Higgins (1091 yards) became the first duo in NFL history to record 1000 receiving yards in the same season before the age of 23. Boyd added 67 receptions for 828 yards (12.4 average) with five TDs. In Cincinnati's postseason run to an AFC Championship title and an appearance in Super Bowl LVI, Chase set a postseason team record with 368 receiving yards while ranking second in receptions (25).

In 2020, Kragthorpe helped transition rookie and No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow into Cincinnati's starting QB role, and did so without the benefit of an in-person offseason program. Burrow had one of the most productive starts to a career by a QB in NFL history, before a knee injury ended the rookie's season after 10 games. Still, Burrow's 264 completions were the most by an NFL QB through their first 10 career games, while his 404 pass attempts were second and his 2688 passing yards were fifth.

In 2019, Kragthorpe and the Bengals' offensive staff helped key a noticeable turnaround over the final eight games. 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.

Kragthorpe brought unique perspective to Burrow's transition to the pros in 2020, as he was the only coach on Cincinnati's staff to have previously worked with the No. 1 overall pick. 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), paving the way for a plus-12 turnover differential, the seventh-best in the country.

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

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 father, Steven Kragthorpe, was a college head coach at Tulsa (2003-06) and Louisville ('07-09). His grandfather, Dave Kragthorpe, was a college head coach at South Dakota State (1969), Idaho State ('80-82) and Oregon State ('85-90).