Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson was a third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and had a shot to emerge as the franchise player at his position once D.J. Reader left in free agency. Two seasons later, Cincinnati has made two major moves for T.J. Slaton and Dexter Lawrence to put Jackson firmly on the roster bubble.
Slaton was something of a free-agent bust last season. So much so that, despite that investment, the Bengals bucked their longstanding aversion of blockbuster moves to trade the 10th overall pick for Lawrence.
There's no question that Lawrence's presence will transform the Bengals' defense. The lingering uncertainty is who can effectively spell him when he needs a bit of rest.
Here's why Jackson could be that guy — or at least make training camp more interesting than anyone's anticipating — as opposed to Slaton.
McKinnley Jackson frozen out of initial Bengals 53-man roster prediction
ESPN's Ben Baby posted a comprehensive Bengals training camp preview, which excluded Jackson from the 53-man roster. Here's who Baby had making the cut for Cincinnati at defensive tackle:
- Dexter Lawrence
- Jonathan Allen
- B.J. Hill
- T.J. Slaton
- Kris Jenkins Jr.
- Landon Robinson
I'll argue till the cows come home that Jackson's draft classmate, Jenkins, is too much of a tweener — a la not a true nose tackle, not a dynamic enough 3-technique — to thrive in the NFL. Rookie Landon Robinson is a more obvious and explosive interior pass rushing threat.
Jackson is a 330-pound man mountain. There's no ambiguity as to what his role is. For that reason alone, and in the event of a catastrophic Lawrence injury, the Bengals could use an insurance policy. There are just few humans on the planet who have nose tackle size.
However, there is a world where Jenkins' second-round draft status precludes him from being traded or waived. I've advocated multiple times for the former resolution.
How McKinnley Jackson could squeeze T.J. Slaton off the roster as No. 2 nose tackle
In a word, money! Just look at the money the Bengals are investing in Slaton and Jackson respectively this year:
- T.J. Slaton 2026 cap hit: $9.16 million
- McKinnley Jackson 2026 cap hit: $1.256 million
Greater than/less than. That's the basic math problem the Bengals have here.
Is the drop-off between Slaton and Jackson really that drastic? Last season would suggest so. Jackson was often a healthy scratch alongside fellow third-round pick Jermaine Burton, who was unceremoniously booted from the Queen City and hasn't caught on with another NFL team.
While Burton was a lost cause, Jackson gritted his teeth and bore it all. He put his head down, kept working, and started to earn a little run at the end of the year when he could've easily packed it in amid a lost 2025 campaign.
That tells me a little something about Jackson's competitive fortitude.
It's pretty clear at this point that Slaton is grossly overpaid. Hence the blockbuster trade for Lawrence. PFF grades shouldn't be gospel, but Slaton was supposed to elevate the Bengals' run defense. They finished dead-last in that department, and he ranked 108th out of 130 qualifying interior d-linemen in PFF's grades in playing the run with a 41.1 grade.
Jackson graded out as a much higher run defender with a 63.8 PFF mark on a small 60-snap sample size. Again, is it that much of a drop-off between the two, if any? Maybe Slaton's three sacks from last year suggest better pass rush ability, but what if Jackson just needs more time on task and is actually quite good?
One thing's for sure: If Jackson starts making a few splash plays in camp, the Bengals may think twice about waiving him.
Who will win Bengals' backup nose tackle job: McKinnley Jackson or T. J. Slaton?
The obvious candidate is Slaton. Cincinnati's front office won't want to admit defeat on a free-agent flop.
It'd be a shame, though. No offense to Slaton. It's less about how I view him in relation to Jackson. Slaton is a superior player to date. It's more about the fact that the Bengals could shave off almost $8 million for Lawrence's backup, and go grab another big-time player with that extra money.
My colleague, Glenn Adams, has surmised that the Bengals' unprecedented Joe Burrow contract restructure effectively saved Slaton's roster spot. I suspect he's correct.
But if the Bengals have one more big transaction in them — say, trading for Miami Dolphins linebacker Tyrel Dodson — maybe Jackson sneaks onto the team with or without Slaton.
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