Duke Tobin doubles down on Bengals gamble that will make or break 2026 season

By all accounts, the Cincinnati Bengals have gone all-in by their standards in pursuit of a Super Bowl, and to ensure Joe Burrow stays happy enough to stick around for the long haul. The reason for the "their standards" qualifier? Because the job's not finished yet.

No doubt Cincinnati has made some great offseason moves. From the relative spending spree in free agency to trading for Dexter Lawrence, the Bengals are putting in serious work.

One glaring roster hole remains, though. Duke Tobin and his minions drafted Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter last year, and they were thrust into starting duty as rookies. They sunk the entire defense almost completely on their own.

But in holding court with the media after the NFL Draft, wherein the Bengals didn't draft a single linebacker, Tobin was borderline defiant and certain that Carter and Knight will deliver in 2026.

Bengals exec Duke Tobin reaffirms faith in Cincinnati's suspect linebacker corps after NFL Draft

During a lengthy 40-minute press conference that spanned a wide range of topics, Tobin was asked about the elephant in the room. is that the Bengals neglected their biggest position of weakness by far. via The Cincinnati Enquirer's Kelsey Conway:

That's all well and good, but there were opportunities to add to that group, at least from a money perspective.

In my sicko, 3,000-word mock offseason manifesto, I did manifest the signings of Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook. However, the Bengals had plenty of funds to spend on my preferred linebacker targets such as Demario Davis or Leo Chenal. Davis is only a $5 million cap hit for the Jets this year; Chenal is at about $4.3 million in Washington.

So don't sit there all smug and tell us, Duke, and I quote, "the opportunity wasn't there to add to that group." Sure it was!

Davis' longtime positional coach from his New Orleans heyday is Bengals linebacker coach Mike Hodges. Chenal could've easily come over with Cook from Kansas City as a package deal.

Then, you have a team like the Miami Dolphins, who are figuratively exploding their veteran core with TNT. Reigning first-team All-Pro linebacker Jordyn Brooks is sitting there, waiting to be had for the right price.

If the goal is to be truly all-in, there's no excuse to let a fourth-round pick like Carter color your offseason decision-making. A Day 3 draft pick at that position shouldn't be saddled with such immense responsibility, especially given how much of a disaster Carter was in his maiden pro campaign.

For his part, Carter was adamant in a same-day interview with FOX19's Regan Holgate that he and Knight have the same conviction in themselves as the personnel department and coaching staff do:

"If they brought in 10 linebackers, we're still gonna be confident. If they didn't bring in one, we're confident as it is. It means the world that the staff, they see something in us to trust us and really lean on us. It's up to us to go do it now. We've been working our a** off this whole offseason, so it's up to us to go show what that work is on the field."

To keep one's head on straight as a professional athlete in the modern sports media landscape can't be easy. Nor is it easy to make it to the NFL in the first place, never mind transform into a functional starter after you face-plant so spectacularly right out of the gates.

The hard lesson learned from Dalton Risner's late arrival last year, and Joe Burrow's ensuing turf toe injury, is something that should be invoked here.

For a refresher: Cincinnati's offensive line had a clear hole at right guard. Fringe starter Lucas Patrick got injured in Week 1. Tobin and the personnel folk didn't do a good enough job adding guard depth soon enough. Risner was thrust into the lineup. Cut to one week later, and Burrow goes down on a pass protection breakdown.

Now granted, all the defensive acquisitions should be a boon to the development of both Knight and Carter. Nevertheless, Duke Tobin is playing with fire. If these guys can't hack it, they could derail what looks to be the makings of a special 2026 season.

Seriously, Duke. Add one vet to the linebacker room. Doesn't have to be a serious challenger to your precious starters. Just somebody who knows what the heck is going on out there.

Carter and Knight have the keys to the kingdom. I guess the strategy for now is to hope and pray they don't blow it for all of us. Can't say that sounds super promising.

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