INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 At this time of year in the NFL, the conversation inevitably turns toward projecting the moves that a specific team is going to make. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are our needs \u2014 I\u2019m not going to get into what our needs are,\u201d Zac Taylor said. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to have that staff back for year two, and to be able to attack the (offseason) with these guys. That\u2019s a lot of fun for me, and for them.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Bengals will be looking for impact players at every level of the defense, including pass rush help, a veteran presence at linebacker, a starting slot corner and a starting free safety. The Bengals\u2019 bad defense from 2025 will need some outside help, and Duke Tobin stressed that the Bengals have the resources that they need to make those moves.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll be talking about player acquisition for the next two months. But right now, on the Bengals\u2019 defense, what do they have in place? <\/p>\n
Who on that unit can you write the name in pen for a prominent role in 2026?<\/p>\n
Defensive line<\/p>\n
Arguably the most concrete news of the week surrounded defensive tackle BJ Hill.<\/p>\n
Tobin spoke very highly about his expectations for Hill in 2026, which seems to eliminate the possibility of Hill being a cap casualty. He\u2019ll be the veteran DT1 on this defense next season. Also, after an injury-riddled 2025 season, Tobin said that Hill \u201cgot that taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hill had a very quiet 2025 season and was used as an early down run stuffer. Tobin mostly attributed his down year to foot and ankle injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think BJ Hill really battled through significant things this year to where he couldn\u2019t practice all the time,\u201d Tobin said. \u201cI think he might have a real bounce back when he can practice and so forth. He was a warrior for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the exact same case that the Bengals made heading into 2024 with Sam Hubbard and 2025 with Logan Wilson. <\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we love BJ, and BJ went through a lot last year,\u201d Al Golden said. \u201cMissing the offseason, missing most of the training camp, he really fought through some things. I know he had something fixed after the season. So excited to get him back healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Injuries also defined the season forShemar Stewart.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited about Shemar,\u201d Tobin said. \u201cAll of us are excited about Shemar. The first year didn\u2019t go the way he wanted. He didn\u2019t have a ton of practice. He played healthy in the first game and then he wasn\u2019t healthy the rest of the year. And that\u2019s tough on a young guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tobin said that before last year, Stewart had never been injured playing football. The Bengals are confident in his ability to stay healthy in 2026. They just need to get him on the practice field to develop the habits and reps that he needs to hit his ceiling. <\/p>\n
He could end up in a role early in 2026 that looks like Myles Murphy\u2019s role early in 2025 \u2014 that was a very small one until he earned more playing time. Stewart also has the talent to play himself into a Week 1 starting role.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still really excited about Shemar,\u201d Golden said. \u201cThat was a difficult season. To not have him for the offseason and most of training camp, that was compounded with the injury that set him back. I see a lot of really, really bright spots. We\u2019ve got to keep adhering to a process, continually get better, have consistency in his approach and his practice, and the results will come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Golden described TJ Slaton as a good acquisition. Kris Jenkins is entering a prove-it year, has to show improvement and would probably end up competing for a prominent role with whatever defensive tackle the Bengals add this offseason, whether that\u2019s in free agency or the draft. McKinnley Jackson will have to earn his reps. Defensive tackle is the biggest question mark on the roster. It\u2019s a bad free agent class at that position and a subpar group of players projected to go in the first round. There is good Day 2 depth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that (the defensive tackles) can play better,\u201d Tobin said. \u201cI think those guys can continue to improve. I think some of them have the talent it takes to be effective players in this league. I think the unit as a whole, you know, didn\u2019t play as well as a group as it should have, as it could, but I think that\u2019s on those guys to take the teaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cKris can kind of play all along the D line, which is something that Al and Jerry want these guys to have, flexibility and the ability to play in multiple techniques. I think Kris has a chance to really do that. And the more McKinnley gets to play, the more I see him coming on. He\u2019s got to earn the right to stay out there and play.\u201d<\/p>\n
At defensive end, there\u2019s a lot of excitement about the next step that Myles Murphy can take in 2026. Stewart is one of the most interesting guys on the defense. The depth after that starts with Cedric Johnson and Isaiah Foskey.<\/p>\n
\u201cShemar went through an up and down season with injuries, but I\u2019m excited for his future,\u201d Zac Taylor said. \u201cI thought Myles really came on in a big way for us. Cedric got a lot of playing time that is really going to help him in the future. I\u2019m excited about a lot of the guys we have returning. We are always looking to add to that mix but I feel like we got a really good group there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Linebacker<\/p>\n
Before last year, Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter barely had any experience in a scheme that uses two off-ball linebackers. They ended up becoming one of the only starting rookie linebacker duos in recent NFL memory. The youth at that position was a defining flaw on the roster last season. The Bengals will definitely get them some veteran help. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re open to however it will evolve,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe\u2019re still in February. We\u2019re not in free agency yet. I\u2019m excited about the development of those two guys. They got some experience that you couldn\u2019t have bought with them on the sidelines. They\u2019ve learned from that. They have really bright futures. We\u2019ll see how it falls the rest of the spring and what the competition looks like in OTAs\u201d. <\/p>\n
The bright side is that the intangibles of Knight and Carter really shined. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re about the right stuff,\u201d Golden said. <\/p>\n
Cornerback<\/p>\n
In conversations with coaches and the front office, I don\u2019t know that two players came up less in conversations this week than DJ Turner and Dax Hill. <\/p>\n
The Bengals\u2019 outside corner duo is the strength of the defense, and having a corner tandem like this gives the defense its identity as a unit that can be great in man coverage. The Bengals know exactly what they have. The only question here this spring is how soon or whether or not extensions get done.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of extensions and how that affects the rest of it, sometimes you can do extensions within the cap count that you currently have, and sometimes you can\u2019t,\u201d Tobin said. \u201cWe juggle all those things. We have a number of resources, and we\u2019re going to use them the best way that we can to improve as many areas of our roster as we can. We have things that we definitely want to get done, and we\u2019ve put a lot of time into it. We\u2019ve had a lot of people involved in trying to sketch out the best plan. Now, the best plan never goes as orchestrated, but we have a good plan in place, and we\u2019re looking to improve our team in every way we can. If that\u2019s with extensions, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Golden made a point to shout out DJ Ivey, the tight end stopper who has literally never allowed a first down catch to a tight end. <\/p>\n
Safety<\/p>\n
On the other side of the equation, there wasn\u2019t a Bengals\u2019 player hyped up more this week than Jordan Battle. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got a lot of traits you look for in the position,\u201d Tobin said. \u201cJordan is a guy that\u2019s developing a leadership role on our team, which you have to have in the back end there. I think he can factor in the box, and he can factor in deep zones as well. So those are things that we\u2019re very positive about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Battle has turned into the guy who the Bengals fell in love with in the pre-draft process. He\u2019s showing the football IQ and intangibles that allowed him to start for Nick Saban as a freshman at Alabama. <\/p>\n
\u201cJordan really came on as a box safety, as a guy that can play near the box, and then there were a lot of times we had him in the post or playing quarters,\u201d Golden said. \u201cHis communication was great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Battle and DJ Turner have become strong candidates to be team captains in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen Jordan Battle continue to grow over the last several years,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI\u2019m encouraged about where he\u2019s going and what he\u2019s going to continue to do for us in the future. Especially around a bunch of young players, the linebackers we have, the corners we have, the guys up front. He\u2019s a guy we continue to be excited about and I think he is only going to be better moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
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