CINCINNATI (WXIX) – The problem with the state of the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense is that there’s no quick fix to get that unit out of the hole that it’s in. It’s not a deep enough unit for changes to the starting lineup to be a real consideration. Al Golden said that he has to keep the scheme pretty simple because of the defense’s youth, so there’s not going to be a big scheme change. Looking toward next year, the Bengals won’t have the cap space to be able to overhaul the defense through free agency.
The Bengals’ defense is tied for last in the NFL in EPA allowed per play and third-to-last in points allowed per drive. This defense is stuck, lost, inexperienced and lacking in leadership.
The front office and coaching staff also hasn’t done a good enough job at putting this defense together.
They knew that this defense would be young this season. They knew there would be growing pains. But this much volatility has players and coaches using the word unacceptable to describe what’s going on.
“I can’t ask them to do too much,” Al Golden said. “I need them to perform at a high level. We all do. The standard doesn’t change. The opponent doesn’t care. The standard doesn’t change irrespective of their age. We’ve got eliminate some of those errors and continue to utilize them in the roles they do best.”
It’s a process, but it’s a process that needs to be further along at this point.
At some point, the only question left to ask is how many times did the Bengals pick the wrong player.
The Bengals have drafted 10 rookies in the top-three rounds of the draft since 2022. Out of that group, DJ Turner is a part of that solution. Dax Hill is a starting-caliber player but is a fourth-year defensive back who hasn’t reached his potential yet. Is anyone else a lock to be a long-term starter on the Bengals’ defense?
Let’s go back through draft class by draft class, looking at the 10 picks on defense from the top-three rounds since 2022. We’ll look at where they’re struggling and what the coaches are saying about them. We’ll also look back at the Bengals’ initial decision to draft those players, remembering the other players the Bengals could have picked and doing some revisionist draft history.
Dax Hill: First-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft
His season in a sentence: He’s having a solid year and is a nice player, but he’s a fourth-year guy at a premium position who the Bengals are counting on to play at a Pro Bowl level. Hill isn’t there yet.
Concern level: 4/10
Most problematic play: Stumbling in one-on-one coverage as he allowed a touchdown catch against the Jets, or getting the blame from Geno Stone on the Steelers’ 3rd and 18 touchdown after Hill didn’t carry his zone coverage up higher toward the goal line.
Draft what-ifs: Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis, who has 29 career sacks, 4.5 sacks this season, plays with his hair on fire and perfectly fits the athletic profile that the Bengals value on the edge, went one pick before Hill. He’d have filled the role on the depth chart that eventually went to Myles Murphy. Karlaftis was a very popular name pre-draft.
Could the Bengals have traded up ahead of a Chiefs team that was their biggest rival at the time? The Bengals don’t really do that outside of the Cam Taylor-Britt pick, but it’s an example of the conversations that need to be had about them changing their approach.
Six picks after Hill was Jalen Pitre, who was a safety at the time and is now the highest-paid nickel in the NFL. Pitre has popped with his instincts, his blitzes, closing speed and violent play style, and those traits have popped even more out of the slot. The Bengals need a guy with that skill set.
At the time, you could understand the Bengals looking for a player in Hill with more of a free safety skill set like Hill as they anticipated the eventual loss of Jessie Bates, instead of a more downhill player in Pitre. Pitre wasn’t as much a part of the pre-draft conversation about the Bengals from analysts and reporters, including myself (players who didn’t pan out as much like Andrew Booth, Kair Elam and Logan Hall had more buzz).
Even though he didn’t work as a safety, Dax Hill is a perfectly fine pick and was a player the Bengals viewed as a top-half of the first round caliber player. They showed more confidence in him heading into this season when they picked up his fifth-year option for 2026. Hill’s inability to play safety was the worst trend of the Bengals’ 2023 season, but he’s a valuable corner to have on your roster. He’s also in his first year back from a torn ACL.
Hill can play, but Hill and Shemar Stewart were the Bengals’ only shots to draft a defensive player with a potentially elite defensive ceiling. The Bengals need Hill, now in his fourth season, to be this defense’s best player. Instead, he’s still getting his feet under him at corner.
Cam Taylor-Britt: Second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft
His season in a sentence: Was inactive versus Pittsburgh, then when he returned to the starting lineup vs the Jets he started the game with a great play before having a poor overall performance.
Concern level: 10/10
Most problematic play: The Bengals’ most experienced corner had a miscommunication on the opening drive of the second half, double teaming the slot receiver and leaving the perimeter receiver wide open for an easy 15-yard catch.
What the coaches are saying: Al Golden said, “Still working on his eyes and being disciplined with his eyes, but he played physical on the perimeter and did a lot of nice things for us (vs. the Jets). Hopefully, we’ll keep building on that. We need him to be consistent and continue to improve for us.”
Draft what-ifs: Would you make this pick again in what ended up being a very rich segment of the 2022 draft? It’s an interesting debate. CTB was the Bengals’ most productive outside corner in the playoffs in 2022, which carried a whole lot of value during what have now become some of the Bengals’ most meaningful games in years. But his fall off in 2024 and 2025 has been the most discouraging trend on this defense. He’s in a contract year, and he keeps getting benched. This year might be it for Taylor-Britt as a Bengal.
The cornerback selected right after Taylor-Britt, Martin Emerson, took a bit longer to develop but is one of my favorites in the league. While he’s injured right now, he might be the best corner in the NFL against Tee Higgins style receivers because of his size and powerful play style. As much as I’m a fan of Emerson, he wasn’t as much on my radar pre-draft.
While edge Nick Bonitto is slighter than what the Bengals typically go for at that position, it’s worth noting the Pro Bowler is one of the most electric rushers in the league and was picked two selections after Taylor-Britt in 2022 (do the Bengals need to loosen up the guardrails they’ve set at defensive end and draft more speed at that position?)
There were a lot of impact defenders in this portion of the draft, including Chiefs safety Bryan Cook and Ravens stalwart run stuffing nose tackle Travis Jones, who were notable names in the pre-draft discussion about what the Bengals’ plans could be. Jones could have been the long-term replacement for DJ Reader and prevented the Bengals from having to chase investments at that position that they went on to have to make.
Taylor-Britt was by far the most popular name linked to the Bengals leading up to the second round. The Bengals traded up and got who they believed at the time to be their guy. They got that guy in 2022 and 2023, and the production in the playoffs might justify this pick on its own.
But right now, he looks like he needs a change of scenery.
Zach Carter: Third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft
He was cut last year in a pick that was a total bust. The Bengals could desperately use a productive fourth-year pass rushing defensive tackle, but that wasn’t going to be Carter. They picked him to fill a slot on the depth chart and ignored other positions that were stronger in this portion of the draft. There were better defensive backs and linebackers to be found here.
This is complete revisionist history, but what if the Bengals’ 2022 NFL Draft class gave them Pitre at nickel, Emerson at corner and Kerby Joseph (taken two picks after Carter) at safety?
The Chiefs fixed their defense in the 2022 NFL Draft by taking impact defensive players, defensive backs in particular as well as Karlaftis on the edge, and won the Super Bowl because of it.
Carter was pick No. 95 in the draft. Three of the next five defensive players selected have gone on to become quality starters on good teams in the Colts, Lions and Chiefs. Carter was the classic draft-for-need pick that failed.
Myles Murphy: First-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft
His season in a sentence: Murphy represents the recent Bengals draft of drafting traits and hoping to develop production, and the Bengals still aren’t getting production from those players.
Concern level: 7/10
Most problematic play: It’s not one play in particular, but the fact that he had zero sacks this year and 1.5 sacks this year and his presence isn’t felt at the line of scrimmage on anywhere near a consistent enough basis. What the coaches are saying: Al Golden said, “He’s continuing to make progress. He’s playing stronger at the line of scrimmage. We need him to win his one-on-ones in the pass rush game. For Myles, he’s long. Just know who you are as a pass rusher… We’ve just got to get it to translate into the game now.”
Draft what-ifs: I remember in the moment having the conversation in the Bengals’ media work room as the Bengals were on the clock. Two edge rushers who were widely regarded as top-20 picks were on the board. One of them was Murphy. The other was Nolan Smith. In the media room, we were talking about how the Bengals needed a different skill set at defensive end, more speed and a true pass rusher. The problem was that Smith was undersized by the Bengals’ standards for defensive ends. Would the Bengals stick to their archetype or change things up with a different style of edge?
The Bengals picked Murphy over Smith, who has gone onto become a very promising player with the Eagles.
Everyone seemed to have defensive tackle Keeanu Benton on their Bengals’ mock drafts for the second round. As always happens, those players go higher than you expect. Benton, the No. 49 pick by the Steelers, has been as productive as just about anyone in this range of the 2023 draft and would have been a good first-round pick in retrospect. Benton is a tough football player. The pick would have looked like a reach at the time, but we’ve learned that chasing upside and traits isn’t always the best approach.
The Lions went on to become the team they are now by taking tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch early in the second round.
Some other names who had a significant amount of pre-draft buzz, including defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, corner Emmanuel Forbes, corner Deonte Banks and a few other edge rushers, haven’t hit at the level you’d need from a first-round pick. This pick could be going much worse than it is now.
Murphy could still pan out. Especially if this is Trey Hendrickson’s final year with the Bengals, Murphy remains a realistic candidate to still be a starter in 2026. He’s getting his chance to make the most of the athletic tools that made him an exciting draft process, and there’s still time for Murphy to take the next step and put it all together.
But let’s put it like this: If Shemar Stewart in 2027 is where Murphy is now, there’s going to be disappointment.
Murphy is now exactly halfway through his rookie contract (assuming the Bengals pick up his fifth-year option), and they’re still waiting for his production on a team with no pass rush outside of Hendrickson.
DJ Turner: Second round of the 2023 NFL Draft
A success story! From a strategic draft perspective and from a player development vantage point, it’s been a win for the Bengals.
Jordan Battle: Third round of the 2024 NFL Draft
His season in a sentence: While there’s hope that he could develop into a future captain and there are plays on tape that highlight his ability to make plays downhill, he has looked like more of a role player than a game-changer so far.
Concern level: 5/10
Most problematic play: Hesitating instead of running through Justin Fields as a potential sack turned into a touchdown pass.
What the coaches are saying: Al Golden said about that play, “Anybody could look at that themselves and figure they could have just run through it. He knows that.”
Draft what-ifs: There really isn’t one here. The Bengals didn’t need a safety at the time but drafted Battle because they had a higher grade on him than late third-round and picked the best player available. While Battle still has to improve, he has been more productive than any defensive player in this range of the 2023 draft who were taken after him (no one else has more than 100 tackles or four sacks).
The only significant what-if is trading up for linebacker Daiyan Henley, who’s now a great player on the Chargers, but the Bengals were set at linebacker at the time.
Kris Jenkins: Second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft
His season in a sentence: A fine role player and run stopper who’s miscast as a player the Bengals need to become their best defensive tackle.
Concern level: 8/10
Most problematic play: Similar to Murphy, it’s not one play in particular but the fact that Jenkins consistently never shows up with splash plays in meaningful moments as a pass rusher. His 3.6% pressure rate is essentially tied with TJ Slaton and Mike Pennel for the worst on the team, and Jenkins’ pressure rate is even worse than it was last year.
Draft what-ifs: Three really promising defensive tackles who looked like they’d fit great — Jer’Zhan Newton, T’Vondre Sweat and Braden Fiske — were off the board by the time the Bengals were on the clock in the second round. All three have shown the ability to be impact players in their short time in the NFL.
Cornerback Mike Sainristil was taken one pick after Jenkins. DJ Turner was at Sainristill’s draft party, wondering if they were about to become teammates. Sainristill’s game looks a lot like Mike Hilton’s, he’s viewed as a great intangibles guy and he went on to become one of the best defenders on a Commanders team that made the NFC title game last year. Sainristil was exactly what the Bengals were looking for.
There hasn’t been much defensive production yet in general in the draft behind Jenkins — outside of Sainristill and a couple of safeties in this range of the draft.
McKinnley Jackson: Third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft
Season in a sentence: There’s being in the doghouse, and then there’s being the fourth nose tackle on the depth chart, being a healthy scratch just about every week and being inactive behind Jordan Jefferson, who was claimed off waivers a few weeks ago.
Concern level: 10/10
Most problematic play: …
What the coaches are saying: Defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery said before the season, “He has a lot of tools and traits. We just need him to play at a high level all the time. It can’t show up one time and then disappear for four snaps.”
Draft what-ifs: Jackson put some impressive plays on film down the stretch in 2024, and there was hope for what he could develop into. But it barely took any time in training camp for Jackson to crash to the bottom of the depth chart.
The Bengals knew they reached when they picked Jackson. Most analysts had him going in the fifth-or-sixth round, but the Bengals failed to add a nose tackle in free agency and needed to fill a key role on the depth chart.
Most of the players in this range of the draft behind Jackson don’t jump off the page, and most of the picks following Jackson were offensive players or defensive backs who have been backups with a couple of exceptions. There’s not a guy here who the Bengals could really be regretting not selecting, but anyone would be contributing more than Jackson is now.
The best player in this bunch is 49ers safety Malik Mustapha is a violent hitter, plays the run very well and has the strength to make an impact in the box. He was in bold on my draft board as a strong potential Bengals’ fit, but safety didn’t look like a major need at the time (there was confidence then in Geno Stone and Vonn Bell as the starters).
The Barrett Carter pick in 2025 is another reminder of how quickly perceived needs can change as he became the Bengals’ starting middle linebacker in just six weeks.
Shemar Stewart: First-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft
His season in a sentence: He’s playing like a guy who has barely practiced, which he hasn’t due to his hold out and his injury, with technical errors, missed tackles and no pass rush production coming from a player who the Bengals literally drafted to immediately fix their pass rush.
Concern level: 5/10
Most problematic play: He had five plays against the Steelers that literally had him clapping in frustration and led to him seemingly getting benched from his starting role, but the worst was losing contain on Aaron Rodgers in the pocket, missing two sack attempts as he tried to get back in the play and watching a first-down pass get completed. What the coaches are saying: Al Golden said, “(He’s in the) infant stages (of his development), to be honest with you. Raw talent. You see it, but a long way to go in terms of catching up to the number of reps that the guys to left and to the right and behind him have had.”Draft what-ifs:The Bengals drafted Stewart because his upside is much higher than anyone else’s in that range of the draft. If they could develop his ability to finish and turn pressures into sacks, then the Bengals have their eventual Trey Hendrickson replacement. Stewart can still be that guy, and the long-term plan could still play out as the Bengals anticipated.
But he also was an indispensable part of the Bengals’ short-term plans to improve in 2025, and Stewart hasn’t done his part there as he has provided zero pass rush value so far. That makes the short-term part of the plan when they picked Stewart unsuccessful.
There was a lot of pre-draft buzz around defensive tackle Derrick Harmon and safety Malaki Starks, who are both starting in the AFC North but are also having their ups and downs. Harmon and Starks haven’t popped yet, but their floors are higher than Stewart’s because of the instincts, physicality and versatility that they bring to the table. Harmon and Starks will likely end up having better 2025 seasons than Stewart, but Stewart can still be the best player of the bunch if he smooths out the edges in his game.
Demetrius Knight Jr., second round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft
His season in a sentence: Coming off the mini-bye last week, the Bengals’ coaches and Knight did a deep dive into all of his missed tackles to find specific areas they could address, but clearly fixing his tackling issues is going to be longer than a one-week process.
Concern level: 5/10
Most problematic play: On the Jets’ first two-point conversion, Knight ran onto the field late due to pre-snap confusion. He wound up guarding the middle of the field with eyes on the quarterback. He had Justin Fields all but wrapped up when Fields scrambled, but then all of a sudden Knight was behind him on an egregious missed tackle where Knight didn’t even make contact with him.
What the coaches are saying: Al Golden said, “Germaine Pratt, who was, for me, one of the most fun people to work with, most rewarding. He would probably tell you he didn’t have the most consistent rookie year… Demetrius Knight comes to mind. You look at the tackle sheet and you’re like, ‘Man he’s making a lot of tackles.’ Then there some plays that he’s missing that you know he’s capable of and your sitting there and going, ‘If he puts that together with what he’s already making,’ because of his effort and because of his suddenness and because of his strength, he’s really going to be something. They all learn at different levels.”
Draft what-if: The problem here is that the Bengals boxed themselves into having to draft a starting linebacker (it ended up being two including Barrett Carter) in what was regarded as a weak draft for linebackers. They needed a starter, and they drafted for need with Knight.
For the rookies, it’s way to early to call anyone a bust. I like a lot of what Knight can do. But still, the Bengals’ plan for this season counted on getting immediate impact from these first-year players. Knight’s intangibles, physicality, versatility and demonstrated ability to find the ball on downfield passes are encouraging, but he’s just not there yet halfway through his rookie season. He’s the most frequent name circled in my notebook on negative plays, and the tackling has been problematic.
The real what-if is that they could have made it a bigger priority to target a starting linebacker in free agency. The other option would have been reaching for Carson Schwesinger, who has looked good this season before getting hurt, in the first round.
2025 WXIX