2026 NFL offseason preview: Cincinnati Bengals are mostly running it back but must revamp defense

4 days ago 2

The NFL offseason has begun, and Yahoo Sports is previewing the coming months for all 32 teams, from free agency through the draft and more.

Cincinnati Bengals

2025 season record: 6-11, (u 9.5 wins), third in AFC North, missed playoffs, 21st in DVOA

Overview

This season was supposed to be one more push for the Bengals. With extensions for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in the offseason to go with Joe Burrow, Cincinnati built its identity around committing to those big three players on offense. After a tense negotiation with Trey Hendrickson, the Bengals got the pass rusher to take a slight pay increase to stay one more year.

Well, Burrow got hurt in Week 2 and the Bengals had what was on pace to be a historically bad defense for most of the season. By the time Burrow returned in Week 13, Cincinnati was 3-8. The Bengals went 5-3 with Burrow, which could have put them on pace to win the division given how the Steelers and Ravens looked this season, but there were few times even with Burrow on the field that the Bengals looked dominant. Burrow was 13th among quarterbacks in EPA per play, and he publicly expressed discontent with the way things have gone in Cincinnati in recent seasons.

The Bengals will keep Zac Taylor as head coach and Duke Tobin as de facto general manager and try to figure out how to build out a defense and more offensive structure around their three best players.

Cap/cuts outlook

The Bengals have about $53 million in effective salary cap space, which is the eighth-most in the league. After last year’s big extensions, Cincinnati has a relatively clean cap. The question is what the Bengals will do with it, if anything. Burrow, Chase and Higgins have the biggest contracts on the books, but those are also the only players on this roster worth getting highly paid. With a continually shrinking group of top-tier free agents, some teams might try to swing trades for undervalued veterans, but it’s difficult to see Cincinnati take that approach.

If the Bengals want to clear more space and get younger on the offensive line with a full reset, moving on from Orlando Brown Jr. would open up another $14 million in space.

Key pending free agents

Edge Trey Hendrickson
S Geno Stone
Edge Joseph Ossai
CB Cam Taylor-Britt
QB Joe Flacco

The contract dispute for Hendrickson turned into a lose-lose when the pass rusher was placed on injured reserve in December with a need for core muscle surgery. He had only 23 pressures and four sacks in seven games. Other defensive free agents come from Cincinnati’s initial attempt to rework the defense. Stone has been a nice piece on the back end but draft picks Ossai and Taylor-Britt didn’t turn into the impact players the Bengals hoped.

Positional needs

Defense
Offensive Line

Cincinnati’s roster holes haven’t really changed over the years. Outside of some young cornerbacks — DJ Turner II was a standout — the Bengals could use improvement at every defensive spot. The Bengals were 24th in pressure rate and allowed the fourth-highest yards per attempt against the pass. They were 30th in success rate against the run. Edge is an issue, especially if Hendrickson doesn’t return. It could also help to mix in defenders who can blitz with a coordinator willing to send them — Cincinnati had the lowest blitz rate in the league at 17%, though DC Al Golden could be coming back.

The offensive line improved in run blocking (10th in run block win rate), but part of that was having easier assignments when Burrow was out due to more under-center runs. Pass blocking is still an issue, even when Burrow was getting the ball out quickly.

2026 NFL Draft Picks

1st round, pick No. 10
2nd round
3rd round
4th round
6th round
6th round (DET)
7th round

Good draft fit

Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State

The Bengals need a ton of help on defense, so they might as well draft a player who can check several boxes right away. Downs can blitz, defend in the box, carry receivers downfield in coverage and much more. Don’t be put off by the safety designation, since that position isn’t typically drafted this high. Downs is worth a top-10 pick.

What could move the fantasy needle in 2026?

Build around Joe Burrow and the trio

The Bengals have Joe Burrow. They have a great set of offensive skill position players, namely Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown. And? This team has missed the playoffs for three straight seasons and while Burrow’s injuries are a big factor in that reality, the Bengals are fooling themselves if they think that is the only variable. If Cincinnati runs back the same product — all those offensive pieces surrounded by middling play in the trenches and a poor defense — for another season, there might actually be some consequences. The Bengals as the NFL’s leading Carnival Team has been a gold mine for fantasy value but it’s become a tiresome operation going nowhere. — Matt Harmon

Betting nugget

It was a disappointing season for the Bengals (8-9 ATS), as another Joe Burrow injury helped Cincinnati fall well short of its preseason win total of 9.5. The Bengals finished 6-11. — Ben Fawkes

Read Entire Article