Positions Bengals have no excuse not to find upgrades for this offseason

The Cincinnati Bengals are in a world of hurt. Well, at least their defense is. Will Duke Tobin and his minuscule scouting department do anything about it? Bengals fans should have their doubts by now.

Tobin can only do so much with such a frugal ownership. He could also help himself by drafting better. Plenty of blame to go around the organization for Joe Burrow having existential crises at the presser podium that he must then clear up publicly well after the fact.

What the Bengals can't do is rest on any unearned laurels when it comes to upgrading a trio of specific positions this offseason. Let's explore what those are.

Will recent investments kill Bengals' upgrade potential at defensive tackle?

Probably, yes. Their only free-agent signing of substance last offseason was nose tackle T.J. Slaton. Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson were second- and third-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. B.J. Hill remains under contract and is easily the best player of that bunch.

Slaton and Jackson are the big run-stopping types. It'd be so easy for Cincinnati to improve that spot if pride can be cast aside.

Although Hill is a solid pass rusher, he's not the uber-athletic, game-changing 3-technique the Bengals have long sought. I'd still keep him in the rotation, but yeah, Jenkins ain't that guy either.

I just worry that draft status will keep Jackson and Jenkins playing far too often by default. And that Duke Tobin will refuse to look outside the building for upgrades in the hopes that everyone mentioned in this section bands together to see the light.

Bengals linebacker corps isn't close to good enough

Self-evident as this is, maybe Duke Tobin needs to hear it reiterated. Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter played so badly as rookie starters at linebacker that they can't be trusted entering Year 2.

"Wait for them to develop! Give them snaps to progress!" Yeah NO! We're done with that, y'all! This year is now or never. I am not going to sit idly by every Sunday and watch these two fellas gaffe up run fits and fail in pass coverage as Bengals opponents dog walk them down the field.

My ideal master plan for the offseason is triple-dipping at linebacker (two vet signings, one draft pick), and putting Knight or Carter in competition at LB4. Loser plays special teams full-time.

I know the Bengals won't do what I want. If they did, they'd be Super Bowl champions by now. They're not interested in that. But just one linebacker upgrade would go such a long way for this defense.

The post-Jessie Bates era of Bengals safeties must course-correct

The 2026 NFL Draft is believed to be loaded at the safety and nickelback-type positions. I said what I said in the section above, but another viable route is to double-dip at those spots via the draft. Bud Clark and Bishop Fitzgerald stand as strong Day 3 options.

My latest seven-round mock draft has the Bengals picking Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Arizona nickelback Treydan Stukes on Day 2. Stukes is more of a standby option for Jalen Davis, whether Cincinnati re-signs him or not.

But the free-agent market is loaded with top safety talent as well. Former Cincinnati Bearcats in Coby Bryant and Bryan Cook are both Super Bowl champs. They could be just what the Bengals need on the back end of their secondary.

One thing is all but certain: Geno Stone will not be back as a starter. He was meant to be the long-awaited solution to the hole Jessie Bates has left at safety since he went to the Falcons in free agency back in 2023. Bates is a reigning second-team All-Pro, which adds insult to injury.

In any event, the Bengals must get at least one starting-caliber safety and a solid nickel who preferably has the versatility to at least be a box safety. Otherwise, this offseason should be considered a failure.