Building my 2026 Bengals mock offseason

1. Let’s eliminate some offseason distractions and reward to top-10 players at their position with extensions for Chase Brown and DJ Turner

Reward them for being great development stories through their hard work and dedication to doing things the right way. The Bengals’ long-term hope is to build more of the middle of their roster through the draft. You start that with these extensions to players who you really want to build around. Everyone on the team could look at Brown and Turner as examples to follow.

We’ll have the “pay a running back” conversation in-depth another time, but I’m all for keeping electric players like Brown who expand the versatility of your offense and help protect Joe Burrow by making the offense more balanced. With these extensions, you also likely set up the first OTAs/training camp since 2021 without a huge distraction or absence. The Bengals made the Super Bowl in 2021.

I’d really, really love to find a way to also extend Dax Hill, who’s also entering a contract season. But I end up using every penny of my cap space allotment in this exercise. Hill, who still hasn’t played a full year at outside corner, hasn’t yet proven to be one of the high-end guys at his position in the NFL like Brown and Turner have. Not getting this deal done with Hill is my biggest regret in this exercise. Maybe the real-life Bengals can do some creative accounting and get this done.

2. Backup quarterback — Case Keenum

Zac Taylor likes quarterbacks who have played a ton of football, are capable of posting good completion percentages and are very well-regarded behind the scenes. Keenum checks those boxes, and Bears coach Press Taylor can serve as a reference. The Bengals need a backup QB, and $3 million is just the going rate for a half-decent one.

3. Run it back on offense — keep this offseason simple so you can focus on the defense

Samaje Perine is RB2, Mike Gesicki is the tight end and you’re not going to find a tackle better than Orlando Brown Jr. at this price point (even if Brown wasn’t quite as good in 2025). Re-sign Dalton Risner — a great fit in your scheme and in your locker room, and the first successful example in years of the Bengals finding a solid guard for cheap.

I’ll be looking for competition at WR3 on Day 3 the draft. Ideally, you’re looking for a speed guy, a vertical threat and a physical player who can make you pay against press coverage (skills similar to what Jermaine Burton brought to the table, or maybe the next Iosivas with a true developmental traits receiver on Day 3). Andrei Iosivas does what’s asked of him, has Burrow’s trust and is a good enough dirty work guy to hold onto his starting spot.

I’m just ok with Jalen Rivers as the second OL on your bench. He’s versatile, he has shown you can win with him and he’s the type of lineman who can at least set up roots and give you a solid chance. Hopefully, the tackle you draft could kick inside in a pinch.

4. A DE1 or a DE2? (I signed more of a platoon player K’Lavon Chaisson)

Duke Tobin said the priority would be pass rush, and pressure is the easiest way to kill a play or a series. The problem is in this pass rusher free agent class.

Here’s the first big question I asked myself as I built this defense: Am I willing to win a bidding war for one of the five-or-so DE1’s in this class?

I went against it to keep enough money to build a deeper, versatile secondary and to add a veteran linebacker. But you can make a very strong case in adding that style of DE1, and I’m sure many of you will add one of these top defensive ends as you do this exercise.

I’ve narrowed down the top of the defensive end class to four guys: Odafe Oweh, Boye Mafe, Joey Bosa and Dre’Mont Jones (Jaelan Phillips will cost too much). They all are kind of like 2021 Trey Hendricksons with exciting abilities but also holes on their resumes (back in 2021, we really questioned how Hendrickson got his sacks in New Orleans).

Oweh’s quick pressures highlight a quick twitch in his game that’s hard to find. Mafe is a rugged, physical pass rusher with traits who’s still developing and getting better. If you look past his two sacks, you see a defensive end who flashes with his ability to burst through blocks as well as an edge who can play all three downs, and he was also drafted by a 2022 Seahawks coaching staff that included current Bengals coach Sean Desai. Bosa and Jones are more savvy vets. Bosa shined in got-to-have-it third downs in 2025. Jones has a violent play style and gave Joe Burrow as many fits as any non-Myles Garrett pass rusher has in a while.

In a perfect world, I’d love to sign Oweh or Mafe to lead the pass rush. But I can’t quite fit that into the cap space I’m working with while getting my other goals done. Again, it’s a really tough decision. You could easily see the Bengals going the other way and signing a pass rusher for $10-to-$16 million, but my offseason doesn’t have them signing anyone who will make more than $10 million to ensure that you can spread the cap space around the defense.

What I’m doing at defensive end is signing a designated pass rusher to help the rotation with a platoon type player in K’Lavon Chaisson for $8 million. He’s young, kind of falls in a similar bucket as Joseph Ossai and brings to the table a combination of production, big game experience, bend and consistent pressure.

You could see Chaisson making an impact around the edge on got-to-have-it downs, but he’s also not going to block someone like Murphy, Stewart or a first-round pick on the edge (the strength of the top-15 in this class is DE) from developing into a long-term starter.

Chaisson fits in snuggly as an impact role playing pass rusher who still gives the young guys the chance to tap into their ceilings. Murphy, Chaisson, a 2026 first-round pick like David Bailey (full disclosure, I haven’t really studied the draft much yet) and Shemar Stewart is a nice top-four in your defensive end room. Don’t make the same mistake that you made when you didn’t play Murphy enough in 2023 and 2024. Give your most talented young defensive linemen a chance to grow and develop.

Looking at defensive tackle, I’d love to add a pass rushing three-tech. So would the Bengals. But this is a very poor free agent class at that position.

There’s one exception in Broncos DT John Franklin-Myers. He’s going to get absolutely paid this spring because of the scarcity at that position. He’s also a 29-year-old former fourth-round pick who has already been on three times and didn’t even really break out until 2024. He’s definitely no Milton Williams. He isn’t a perfect free agent and he isn’t enough of a sure thing for me to make him the highest-paid free agent in Bengals’ history.

It’s such a weak defensive tackle class behind Franklin-Myers that I’m keeping BJ Hill. Outside of Franklin-Myers, I don’t see a starter better than Hill on the market. Hill wasn’t as good in 2025 as he has been in previous seasons, but he’s still more of an impact players than the other free agent DTs that I’m looking at.

I’d consider swapping out TJ Slaton with DJ Reader, but I’ll need to take a closer look at how Reader played in 2025.

5. Get me a defensive playmaker, regardless of position (I signed safety/slot Jaquan Brisker)

Ideally, this would be a three-tech pass rusher to complement this group. But since there isn’t the right player with that skill set, I’m opening up my search.

It’s very, very underrated how much a hybrid slot/safety would change the identity of Al Golden’s system. Some trends from 2025 show that Golden would really value this type of versatility and playmaking with a guy who could blitz, make a play down the field, line up at safety or in the slot and open up new wrinkles in the playbook. (I wrote a feature about this last week, you can find it at this link).

All of the coolest defenses in the NFL have this type of player. And the hybrid slot/safety is a strength of this free agent class, including Kevin Byard, Kam Curl, Jalen Thompson, Nick Cross and Coby Bryant.

My favorite in the group by far is Bears DB Jaquan Brisker, who’s basically a twitched up Vonn Bell.

Brisker would have the ability to be the best playmaker on the defense outside of Turner. And unlike Turner over at outside corner, you’d be able to consistently get Brisker around the ball. He’d help you force turnovers, win with exotic blitz looks and make plays over the middle of the field. He’d be a chess piece that Golden could scheme up ways to feature on every snap, and he’d be a guy who the offense has to make sure to identify before every snap.

On base downs, Brisker could team up with Jordan Battle as the safety duo. If you want to be more clever on third downs, you could move Brisker into a slot/dime LB role where he could blitz. To make the most of that versatility, you’d need another versatile DB on the roster to fill in the gaps (the Andrei Iosivas of defensive backs).

Caleb Downs could be the first-round pick and develop into Brisker’s running mate, and that pick would give the Bengals one of the most versatile secondaries in the NFL. I’ll strongly consider drafting Downs even if the Bengals sign a starting safety. But right now, in this exercise, I’m using the Bengals’ first-round pick right now on the defensive line.

Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard is a sleeper on the free agent market with the versatility to step up in whatever role is needed — he’d be the Iosivas of defensive backs. He won’t cost much, and his ability to play multiple spots (including free safety and the slot) will give you the ability to move your Brisker piece around. Wingard was an important part of a really good Jaguars defense in 2025, and he would add to the Bengals’ leadership as a multi-time team captain. He effectively replaces Jalen Davis.

6. Cut Oren Burks and Cody Ford to free up $5.2 million

The Bengals needed so much help at linebacker in 2025, and Burks wasn’t able to be a part of the solution.

The Bengals signed Ford last spring with the idea that he could be a starting guard. That ship has sailed, and he isn’t athletic enough to be a swing tackle.

7. Add one veteran linebacker who you trust to stabilize the middle of your defense (not two veteran linebackers)

Linebacker Kaden Ellis was drafted in 2019 by the Saints and developed under current Bengals linebackers coach Mike Hodges. Ellis posted a great missed tackle rate in 2025 with the Falcons, proved to be an impact blitzer and has been a team captain. He can take charge in the middle of the Bengals’ defense, but you’re not breaking the bank. By just signing one linebacker you’re still giving Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight the shot to compete for roles — I think that’s fair and the right call.

8. Build up the defensive line in the draft

I’m still not very familiar with these prospects. But the traits and big game experience of DE David Bailey (Texas Tech) and DT Christen Miller (Georgia) fit the Bengals.

The DE room would be Murphy, Bailey, Chaisson and Stewart.

The DT room would be Hill, Slaton, Miller, Jenkins and Jackson.

Murphy and Stewart can kick inside and rush from the DT position on third downs. Also, with a deeper defensive tackle room, you can do something the Bengals couldn’t in 2025 and use Hill on more third downs in 2026.

Third-round pick Isaiah World gives the Bengals the swing tackle that they desperately lacked last season. I’ve never heard of him before this. But he played big-time college football for a blue blood program, is big at 6-foot-8 and 318 pounds and his last name is World. The nicknames right themselves for a Bengals team that loves big offensive tackles.

A sneaky hole on the roster is CB4. If Turner or Hill got dinged up, there isn’t a reliable outside cover corner option. It’d be great to add a big corner who has played in big games and does well at the combine. I’ll give that projection to Daylen Everette out of Georgia.

The cornerback room would be Turner, Hill, Brisker/Wingard (versatility), an athletic rookie like Everette, Josh Newton and tight end stopper DJ Ivey.

The linebackers would be Ellis, Knight, Carter, Joe Giles-Harris and Shaka Heyward.

The safeties would be Battle, Brisker/Wingard (versatility) and a Day 3 draft pick (not listed on this exercise).

I’ve got to be honest — this could be a league average or better defense. The versatility in the secondary plus the athletic traits from the first-round picks at defensive end give this unit some real upside.

My plan in summary