The Cincinnati Bengals didn't come away empty-handed when Monday's waiver claims were processed.
Cincinnati claimed former Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Myles Hinton, adding another young option to an offensive line that spent much of training camp searching for reliable depth behind Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims.
Hinton is an intriguing addition. The 6-foot-6, 323-pound tackle allowed only one pressure across 58 pass-blocking snaps during the preseason and gives the Bengals another player to develop alongside Javon Foster and Jalen Rivers.
But Cincinnati shouldn't be finished.
The waiver deadline is only one avenue for improving the roster. Sunday's league-wide cuts also dumped several experienced veterans onto the open market, while some notable free agents who spent the entire summer unsigned remain available.
For a Bengals team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, there are still opportunities to turn questionable areas of the roster into strengths before Week 1.
Here are three players Cincinnati should be calling immediately.
3. Taylor Decker, OT
Claiming Hinton helps Cincinnati's tackle depth.
It doesn't necessarily solve it.
Hinton was a sixth-round pick in 2025 who missed his entire rookie season with a back injury and has yet to play a regular-season NFL snap. Javon Foster currently appears to be Cincinnati's primary swing-tackle option, but the depth behind Brown and Mims remains extremely inexperienced.
Taylor Decker would represent the opposite approach.
The former Detroit Lions left tackle has started 140 regular-season games during his NFL career and earned Pro Bowl honors in 2024. Detroit granted his request to be released earlier this offseason after the two sides couldn't agree on a contract.
At 32, Decker isn't a long-term solution. He also battled injuries and allowed 33 pressures during a difficult 2025 season.
But Cincinnati wouldn't be asking him to become the foundation of its offensive line.
Brown and Mims already occupy the starting tackle jobs. Decker would give the Bengals something they currently don't have behind them: a tackle with extensive NFL starting experience.
Whether Decker would accept a backup role, and what it would cost Cincinnati to convince him, are legitimate questions.
The Bengals should still make the phone call.
Everything Cincinnati hopes to accomplish this season revolves around keeping Joe Burrow healthy. If either starting tackle misses time, relying entirely on players with little or no NFL experience is an unnecessary gamble for a team trying to win a Super Bowl.
2. Adoree' Jackson, CB
Cincinnati has plenty of young talent at cornerback.
What it doesn't have is much proven depth.
DJ Turner II and Dax Hill give the Bengals an intriguing starting combination, while third-round rookie Tacario Davis made a strong impression during the preseason. Josh Newton and DJ Ivey provide additional young options.
But Ja'Sir Taylor will begin the season on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, removing another piece from Al Golden's secondary for at least the first four games.
That's where Adoree' Jackson makes sense.
The 30-year-old Jackson has appeared in 111 NFL games with 92 starts during stops with the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. He's no longer the former first-round prospect Tennessee selected in 2017, but Cincinnati wouldn't need him to be.
The Bengals would need him to provide experienced insurance.
Jackson spent last season with Philadelphia and started 10 games. Adding him wouldn't have to prevent Davis, Newton or Cincinnati's other young corners from developing.
It would simply mean an injury to Turner or Hill wouldn't immediately force one of those players into a much larger role.
Cincinnati spent aggressively this offseason rebuilding the defensive line around Dexter Lawrence II, Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe. Adding an experienced corner behind the starters would provide another layer of insurance for a defense expected to take a major step forward.
1. Tyrel Dodson, LB
This one almost makes too much sense.
The Bengals made one of the more surprising roster-construction decisions around the NFL when they kept only four linebackers on their initial 53-man roster.
Those four are Demetrius Knight Jr., Barrett Carter, Oren Burks and Swayze Bozeman.
Cincinnati clearly believes in its young linebackers, and that confidence may prove justified. But there's a difference between trusting Knight and Carter to play significant roles and entering a championship-or-bust season with almost no margin for error behind them.
Tyrel Dodson could change that immediately.
Miami released the 28-year-old veteran while setting its initial 53-man roster despite Dodson starting 16 games for the Dolphins last season.
And he wasn't simply occupying a starting spot.
Dodson finished 2025 with 129 tackles, five sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
That's legitimate NFL production suddenly sitting on the free-agent market.
Signing Dodson wouldn't require Cincinnati to abandon its youth movement at linebacker. Knight and Carter could remain central pieces of Golden's rebuilt defense while Dodson provides an experienced alternative capable of stepping into a significant role if necessary.
He would also provide insurance against injury at a position where Cincinnati can least afford one.
The Bengals going unusually light at linebacker could indicate they're comfortable supplementing the position with practice-squad elevations and utilizing their considerable depth elsewhere on defense.
Or it could mean the roster isn't finished yet.
Dodson is 28, productive and available without the Bengals needing to surrender draft capital or win another waiver claim.
For a team that's spent the offseason behaving like its Super Bowl window is right now, this is exactly the type of late-August opportunity it shouldn't ignore.
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