The Cincinnati Bengals are aspiring to come out of the bye firing with a season sweep against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11, but to do that, they'll need to show ample progress on defense.
After giving up 86 points in their prior two losses, preceded by a massive victory over Pittsburgh, demoted captain Logan Wilson was traded to Dallas to make the defense even worse. Who can the Bengals count on this Sunday and beyond?
Perhaps there's another hope in the linebacker room with Wilson out of the picture. And that man comprises one of the three Cincinnati players who are quietly ascending the depth chart.
Cedric Johnson, DE
First we'll start with the defensive end group. Head coach Zac Taylor announced first-round pick Shemar Stewart and superstar Trey Hendrickson are both doubtful for Week 11, per NBC 5's Charlie Clifford.
That opens the door for 2024 sixth-round pick Cedric Johnson to make a splash. PFF had Johnson with three QB pressures on just 12 pass rush snaps against the Bears in Week 9. That's the kind of pressure rate/juice Cincinnati has desperately needed off the edge.
Johnson should honestly be atop the depth chart this week over Myles Murphy and Joseph Ossai. Neither of the latter two have proven they're NFL-caliber starters.
At least Johnson has some unexplored upside to potentially tap into. Oh well, It'll be nice to see him get a little more run at the unfortunate expense of Stewart being sidelined, which slows his development.
Cam Taylor-Britt, CB
Leading up to Week 9, Josh Newton was starting over Cam Taylor-Britt at the cornerback spot opposite DJ Turner. Now, it appears Taylor-Britt has taken back over on the boundary, as he eclipsed Newton on the Week 11 depth chart.
Bengals depth chart Week 11 vs. Steelers: pic.twitter.com/42b81punJP
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) November 11, 2025
Taylor-Britt is grinding through multiple trips to the bench and demotions over the past couple seasons. He's in a contract year, so it'd behoove him to string together a stellar post-bye stretch to boost his stock in free agency, or perhaps earn enough trust to re-sign in Cincinnati.
The slightest improvement from CTB would be a welcome surprise. PFF did have him as the Bengals' second highest-graded defender versus Chicago, albeit when the team gave up 47 points.
As a past second-round pick, there's no denying Taylor-Britt has been a disappointment overall. He's worn the coaching staff's patience out too often. The least he could do on his way out the door is step up his game for the end of this season.
Oren Burks, LB
Ah yes. Rookie starters Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter are the reason Logan Wilson is in a Cowboys uniform. With Wilson gone, however, that could mean Oren Burks sees a larger role.
Pretty simple here. Burks was a playoff hero for the Eagles on their Super Bowl run last postseason. He's gotten pushed aside in favor of Cincinnati's youth movement. Now that it's clear Knight and Carter aren't ready to assume big roles, perhaps Burks is the secret weapon defensive coordinator Al Golden could unleash on the Steelers.
Burks climbing the depth chart is admittedly more wishful thinking than anything else. It's more to do with Wilson's departure than any realistic belief in the coaching staff seeing the light on Knight and/or Carter.