As we approach the beginning of the 2026 NFL season, you would be forgiven for not realizing the depth of Cincinnati’s defensive improvement in last year’s second half. Using DVOA as a metric, the Bengals went from historically awful in the first half of 2025 to halfway decent in the second half. There was nowhere to go but up, true, but the fact remains that the defense showed the greatest improvement of any in the last decade (since the 2014 Rams) in efficiency.
The great thing about the Bengals offseason was that the front office was either unaware of this improvement or, more likely, refused to use it as an excuse to run it back. Given there is generally little to no carryover with late season stats of any kind, that was a wise course of action.
Of course, the offseason’s big move—in literal terms—was the stunning trade for Dexter Lawrence. The Bengals stepped far, far outside their comfort zone in trading the 10th overall pick to the New York Giants for Dexy, among the league’s best defensive tackles. He is the sort of run-stuffing interior anchor that’s eluded the Bengals since the departure of D.J. Reader, and his inside pass rushing ability is the best in BengalLand since the great Geno Atkins retired. If there has been a single theme of the summer workouts thus far, it is that Lawrence has been even more dominant than expected as he begins the second act of his career.
The considerable shadow the 6-foot-5, 350-pound Lawrence casts has somewhat obscured the other lineman Cincinnati brought in over the offseason, tackle Jonathan Allen. He had a solid year in a somewhat miscast role in Minnesota in 2025 and is older (31) than Lawrence, but he should do well in a larger rotation after playing 810 snaps last season. By comparison, B.J. Hill played 670 snaps to lead Bengals DTs. Hill and T.J. Slaton, last year’s starters, have been pushed to the second unit.
The most interesting line addition is rookie Landon Robinson, a sawed-off (5-foot-11, 295) but quick tackle with an ability to squeeze through cracks in offensive lines like an octopus. He was perhaps the best Bengal on the field during the first preseason game last week, a 16-14 win over Detroit. How much that actually means in the big picture is hazy, but for a seventh-round pick trying to crack a crowded position group to stick on the roster, it was a critical performance. Robinson is also taking practice snaps at fullback in the old Domata Peko role, giving himself an extra chance to make the 53-man squad.
On the edge, Cincinnati offset the elongated departure of Trey Hendrickson with two new players, free agent Boye Mafe and second-round pick (the team’s first) Cashius Howell. Mafe has looked the part in training camp, a strong, fast defender with attitude. Howell looks explosive as well and seems ready-made as a situational pass rusher, if not more. There was a lot of dropping both Mafe and Howell into coverage during camp, as Al Golden’s defense seeks to become more disguised and allows defenders to rush or drop depending on the looks they decipher.
The new guys will team with holdover Myles Murphy, playing for a rich second contract, and already injured (though not as severely as it appeared) 2025 first-rounder Shemar Stewart to form what hopefully becomes a more well-rounded pass rush than the “Trey or Nothing” approach of the past couple of seasons. Murphy is in a particularly interesting spot—the team declined his fifth-year option in May, leaving 2026 as a pivot point in his career. Play well, and Cincinnati will want him back. Play really well, and they probably won’t be able to afford him. Play poorly, and it was nice knowing you.
There is always a danger of giving big money to a guy who turns it up in a contract year, but that’s a problem to face down the line, a good one to have. As for Stewart, he’s gonna need to really come on once he returns, especially if Murphy winds up departing—again, an issue for 2027 but important to acknowledge.
One place the Bengals didn’t add personnel, of course, was at the beleaguered linebacker spot, where 2025 rookies Barrett Carter and Demetrious Knight took a drubbing while figuring out the league on the fly. Much has been placed on the notion that both will take a second-season leap, and so far this summer they’ve looked much better. Another key to their success will be the better line in front of them. Even the greatest backers require linemen to eat blockers while they roam free to make plays. Golden wants to employ more odd-man (“Bear”) fronts to force one-on-ones and allow the linebackers to be unblocked; how often and successful Cincinnati accomplishes this will be key to any defensive improvement in 2026.
The secondary also stands to greatly improve with a more ferocious pass rush. D.J. Turner was one of the NFL’s best corners last year, made more impressive by the dreck surrounding him. Dax Hill was strong on the outside after moving from the slot, where he missed lots of tackles and allowed more yards after the catch than all but three NFL corners. Rookie Tacario Davis joins D.J. Ivey, Josh Newton, and slot men Jalen Davis and Ja’Sir Taylor in a unit that feels short on depth.
Perhaps the most unheralded addition in the offseason was safety Bryan Cook, the local kid returning home who’s an improvement over missed-tackle machine Geno Stone. Cook has been in and out of practice with minor ouchies (as has Hill) but should be good to go for Week 1. He’ll team with Jordan Battle and new and versatile pickup Kyle Duggar to give the team at least adequate play at the position, a large step up from the situation since Jessie Bates left for greener pastures.
As for the Bengals offense, you know those guys and what they can do. The story of the summer has been the installation of under-center formations for Joe Burrow & Co. It remains to be seen if JB, who is more shotgun-oriented than perhaps any QB in the league, can truly add this aspect to his game or if it’ll be an occasional dip. Given the bounty of tight ends on the roster—including rookie Jack Endries, who was very good in the preseason opener, and the returning Erick All, a man tough enough to bounce off Greek traffic and get open down the seam—playing less 11 personnel (three wideout, one running back) out of the gun would be a good thing. But I can’t help but assume that when the chips are down Burrow and Zac Taylor will default to their comfort zone.
Panic set in during the Lions game when left tackle Orlando Brown whiffed on a block and allowed Burrow to get walloped. Needless to say, defending against the rush is a major concern, especially since the team failed to add any tackle depth in the busy offseason. They instead re-upped Brown for a couple of more years, a puzzling move given his advancing age and mediocrity. His play will in large part define the O-line’s season, as the other four positions seem settled for once and rookies Brian Parker (impressive vs. Detroit) and Connor Lew (looking mostly ready after ACL surgery in 2025) are young interior backups.
I’ll return in two weeks to discuss the upcoming season in more detail. The important thing is that football is back! Congrats to us all, we made it!
Robert Weintraub heads up Bengals coverage for Cincinnati Magazine and has written for The New York Times, Grantland, Slate, and Deadspin. Follow him on X at @robwein.
