![\"Cincinnati](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_27341390-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPHOENIX \u2014 Roster construction is never linear in the NFL. In the case of the Cincinnati Bengals\u2019 defensive rebuild, it\u2019s become circular.<\/p>\n
For coach Zac Taylor, who spent 40 minutes speaking on the state of his team Tuesday morning at the AFC coaches\u2019 breakfast during the NFL league meeting, that\u2019s both the obvious reality and optimistic future.<\/p>\n
The additions of edge Boye Mafe, safety Bryan Cook and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen were where the conversation started. Where it went next illustrated Cincinnati\u2019s strategy in returning to a level capable of supporting a playoff run by quarterback Joe Burrow.<\/p>\n
It circled back to where it started: Betting on previous investments and projected growth to make up the difference.<\/p>\n
The last time Taylor and defensive coordinator Al Golden spoke on the approach to fixing the defense was at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. Leadership and a combo edge presence at linebacker were stated as needs.<\/p>\n
One month later, they still need it. The linebacker room looks exactly as it did on the final day of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think at moments where we can add a player, there\u2019s been players that popped up at other positions that we feel like are critical additions,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cJonathan Allen being one of those guys. It doesn\u2019t mean that we don\u2019t prioritize it. It just means, at the moment, the fit has been somewhere else, and so we\u2019ve identified that and added to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lack of additions doubled down on the bet Taylor made on Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight by inserting them as rookie starters last season.<\/p>\n
Taylor tripled down when addressing the lack of moves there over the last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think any rookie is going to be criticized at different moments of their career,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe saw the growth. Our job is to have patience and develop and not overreact. I understand that when two rookies are playing side by side, sometimes it can be really challenging, and they fought through those challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to need them to take another huge step, obviously, for our defense to be where we want it to be as a championship-caliber defense. But just with a critical eye from us over the last half of the season, I was really encouraged with their development, and I think we\u2019ll see another big jump this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
They must. There\u2019s little other choice right now. Taylor mentioned the roles veteran Oren Burks and emerging young backup Shaka Heyward can play to supplement, but the defense\u2019s next step is inevitably tied to the next steps for Carter and Knight.<\/p>\n
With those two starting next to each other, the Bengals ranked 10th in points allowed per drive over the final eight weeks of the season. They view that number as more relevant than setting a franchise record for touchdowns allowed in a season.<\/p>\n
The potential would be for a high draft pick to provide supplementation. The question becomes: Would adding a rookie next to two guys who are still learning hinder Knight and Carter\u2019s development? Would the team really be willing to go down the rookie linebacker road again, adding uncertainty again to down-to-down execution?<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019d be harmful at all. I think that those guys are wired the right way. That\u2019s why we added them into the room. That\u2019s why we threw him in the fire so early, because we knew it wasn\u2019t going to break them. If a game went poorly or a series went poorly, that\u2019s not how they\u2019re wired.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so I think that\u2019s part of the reason why we had the trust to put it out there and, trust me, when I made the decision to put Barrett out there midway through the season, it was hard putting two rookies next to each other. But I just, I could see the long-term value how this is going to play out for us. And so that\u2019s still the vision we have for those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
What if the vision blurs and the 2025 linebacker duo regresses? What happens next?<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s like any position,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cIf guys don\u2019t step up, you have to rely on depth, or you have an issue. That\u2019s part of being in the NFL and constructing your roster. Nothing is ever going to be perfect from a depth standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where the Bengals do like their developing depth is on the defensive line after adding Mafe and Allen to the emerging Myles Murphy and veterans B.J. Hill and T.J. Slaton. There\u2019s a desire to add another piece or two in the draft, but the numbers are beginning to trend in a better direction for a group that failed to consistently produce a non-Trey Hendrickson pass rush for the last three seasons.<\/p>\n
The most interesting member is 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart. Where does he now fit around projected starters Murphy and Mafe?<\/p>\n
\u201cHis development is a priority for us,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe\u2019re not trying to do anything to stunt the growth there. We\u2019re trying to do everything we can for him to continue to grow and play a major role for us. So signing Boye really doesn\u2019t do anything negatively for Shemar because we still have high expectations for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n First-round 2025 pick Shemar Stewart played in eight games and had 11 combined tackles and one sack in his rookie season. (Sam Greene \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
They might possess high expectations, but do they possess enough available snaps?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at all the great defensive lines that have gone far in the playoffs, they\u2019re loaded up front with depth,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cYeah, there are starters, but there are also guys that are going to play you 40-50 snaps a game \u2026 I think there\u2019s plenty (of snaps). Especially depending on games, whether you see more 12 personnel and you\u2019re in base defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel like we\u2019re configured the right way now to get the right people on the field. Even if we\u2019re in nickel, there\u2019s plenty of opportunity for all those guys to play. I don\u2019t worry about any of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor also wasn\u2019t worried about the state of the cornerback room, but the tone of the discussion about the position emphasized why that spot is a high priority in the draft.<\/p>\n
DJ Turner and Dax Hill are both extension-eligible and in the final year of their rookie deals. They are where the conversation starts and project to form one of the better duos in football.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s still a need for both a nickel to compete with Jalen Davis and an outside corner backup that always ends up playing a critical role at an injury-prone position.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether it\u2019s a veteran guy lingering out there, whether it\u2019s at some point in the draft, unknown when that will be, but I do feel like we certainly have talked and feel comfortable with the direction we\u2019ll head there, and we\u2019ll see how it shapes out over the next month and a half,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n
One option would be landing one of the top corners in the draft at pick No. 10. LSU\u2019s Mansoor Delane and Tennessee\u2019s Jermod McCoy project to be in the Bengals\u2019 range, but both specialize in outside corner.<\/p>\n
Taylor spoke openly last year and after the season about viewing Hill\u2019s best spot on the outside after years of bouncing around. Would he be willing to move him back inside if that allowed a first-round pick and the best three overall to play together?<\/p>\n
Taylor didn\u2019t say no, but rather declared it too early to make any statements on hypotheticals.<\/p>\n
The one comment Taylor did make clear about his cornerbacks was that there\u2019s no need to add a veteran for the sake of bringing experience to the collection of young players.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Dax and DJ, it doesn\u2019t feel young anymore,\u201d Taylor said of the two 25-year-olds. \u201cThose guys have played a lot of football for us, and so I don\u2019t look at it as a young room anymore. Jalen Davis, you know, he\u2019s always been a part of that room, and I thought he played really well for us at nickel last year when he got his opportunity. So I don\u2019t really see that as a young room.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that there\u2019s veteran corners that have played a lot longer, that have played in the league, but I feel like with the experience those guys have gotten, they\u2019ve had great moments, they\u2019ve had tough moments, and they\u2019ve learned from that, and I got a lot of confidence in those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the Bengals feel the additions of Mafe, Cook and Allen will help raise the floor and augment the young core they felt took a significant step in the late-season shadows of the 2025 failure.<\/p>\n
The rest, from line depth to bets on the 2025 class and an influx to the cornerback and safety room in the draft, will be about development. Additions \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 capture headlines, but names like Murphy, Carter, Knight, Hill, Turner and Jordan Battle set the foundation of the Bengals\u2019 belief.<\/p>\n
The offseason isn\u2019t over, but that\u2019s the path they have chosen. Taylor reaffirmed as much over breakfast Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are counting in a major way on those guys,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cAll those guys tie together. They\u2019ve all got experience together. They\u2019re all tied together. And I\u2019m really excited about the jump they can make as a unit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 Roster construction is never linear in the NFL. In the case of the Cincinnati Bengals\u2019 defensive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":848883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2053],"tags":[228,227,256,2296,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-848882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-bengals","8":"tag-bengals","9":"tag-cincinnati","10":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","11":"tag-cincinnatibengals","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116334335433661814","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}