Bengals need improved defense to regain playoff form

CINCINNATI -- Anybody who took one look at the Cincinnati Bengals last season could identify where the team needed to improve in the offseason.

The defense.

For yet another season, Cincinnati's defense struggled to support the offense. And as the Bengals finished a third consecutive year outside of the playoffs, assurances were made that the front office was going to make major fixes in the offseason.

To an extent, that happened. The Bengals brought in three major pieces -- defensive end Boye Mafe, safety Bryan Cook and defensive lineman Jonathan Allen.

But for the Bengals to support Joe Burrow and the offense in the franchise's attempt to become relevant again, they will need a combination of growth from returning players and contributions from the newcomers in order to live up to their potential. That's the task at hand for defensive coordinator Al Golden and Cincinnati's coaching staff in 2026.

"The guys that are returning have a lot of confidence in terms of how we finished the year," Golden said in February at the NFL combine. "You can't discard the rest of it, because at the end of the day, that falls on me."

One of the primary reasons Cincinnati hired Golden in 2025 was to develop its young players. With the Bengals spending big on Burrow and wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the team has needed to bank on young defensive starters in order to get everything to fit beneath the salary cap.

The projected starting lineup for 2026 is proof of that.

In a 4-3 alignment, seven players are top 100 draft picks who are still on rookie contracts. Three have been signed to contracts worth more than $10 million annually (Mafe, Cook, defensive tackle B.J. Hill). The only exception is linebacker Barrett Carter, the fourth-round selection in 2025 whom the coaching staff has praised after being thrown into the deep end as a rookie.

Mafe and Cook are the big-time additions who should improve some key aspects of the defense immediately. Cook's tackling abilities were noted following a year in which outgoing safety Geno Stone led the team in solo tackles (65) but also had 20 missed tackles, per Next Gen Stats.

Cook compared football to another sport when explaining the sweet science behind being a good tackler.

"The whole concept of boxing is to hit without getting hit," Cook said in his introductory news conference in March. "Same thing with football. How can I strike someone in the area that I can deliver a blow but not costing my body days in and days out?"

Cook said he takes pride in his leadership, which is notable given Stone's quiet involvement in that area last season.

Last year, Stone had a pivotal role in fixing the defense. After the team's bye week, Stone suggested the whole defense should collectively have a meeting centered on run defense and player responsibilities. Led by run game coordinator Jerry Montgomery, every position group met on Wednesdays and Thursdays for the final eight weeks of the regular season to be aligned on run defense.

"I know guys watch film and everything, but we didn't watch it as a group," Stone told ESPN in December. "We didn't have the relationship with everyone knowing what they're doing. I think ever since the bye, we all just took a step forward with really everything in the run game."

Before the bye week, the Bengals ranked last in the NFL in defensive rushing success rate (50%), per Next Gen Stats. After the bye and the meetings were implemented, Cincinnati ranked eighth in the league (38.2%).

The Bengals are hopeful that growth can continue in 2026. And while there are still improvements that must be made in the draft, Cincinnati might be able to field a better defense in 2026 if the young players can build off last year.