The Cincinnati Bengals have some serious decisions to make about their roster, just like any NFL team when the initial 53-man cuts come down. But it's a little more complex in Cincinnati due to how much Duke Tobin and Co. overhauled the defensive line this offseason.
Bengals front offices of prior years would just rest on their laurels, and trust that 2024 Day 2 picks Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson will suddenly pop in Year 3. I mean, it's not without precedent; that's exactly what happened to defensive end Myles Murphy down the stretch of last season.
Having said that, the Bengals' actions were loud. They clearly realized their defensive line wasn't cutting it. Jenkins and Jackson made negligible impacts through two seasons. So, they brought in Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, and Landon Robinson at the defensive tackle position.
Lawrence and Allen are slated to start, while Robinson already looks better than Jenkins or Jackson ever have. The question is, who will be squeezed out? Jackson almost certainly, but can Robinson beat out Jenkins?
As the Bengals gear up for their preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, that back part of the d-tackle rotation has their work cut out versus Philly's backups. It should help bring clarity to the Jenkins-Robinson dilemma.
Back end of Bengals' defensive tackle rotation prepares to battle a fascinating Eagles backup interior o-line
Ex-Bengal Michael Jordan, former first-team All-ACC center Drew Kendall, and 2024 first-team All-American Willie Lampkin are a formidable enough trio for McKinnley Jackson, Kris Jenkins Jr. and Landon Robinson to deal with.
The Eagles have a couple more where those fellas came from in ex-Texas Longhorns center Jake Majors and rookie guard Micah Morris, who was a solid player at Georgia. If you've noticed, elite Eagles GM Howie Roseman likes to pull from that teeming talent pool in Athens.
If Cincinnati is one of the prime examples of how not to develop offensive linemen, at least until very recently, Philly represents the gold standard in that area. Their much-larger scouting department is superior at diagnosing good players, and their coaching staff puts the players in positions to execute at a high clip.
Robinson is a bit of a different beast than Jenkins. He's a squatty, uber-explosive 3-technique who can hold his own at nose tackle. That's where he played at Navy, and he's aligned there at times during the preseason with plenty of promising flashes.
Meanwhile, Jenkins has never been a good fit as a nose tackle. If he was, drafting Jackson right after him wouldn't have been necessary. Nor would Lawrence or T.J. Slaton be on the team at that spot, which reflects more poorly on Jackson than anything else to be fair.
But Jenkins doesn't have the twitchy, difference-making athleticism to be a viable 3-technique. From what little we've seen of Robinson at the NFL level, he shows way more promise in that area.
Friday will be a huge test for the rookie seventh-rounder to pass, though. All eyes are on him, expectations are high, and the matchup is very difficult.
Lampkin in particular would be one to watch. I wanted him on the Bengals last year. This is on public record. He can play guard but is listed as a center behind Kendall.
Unfortunately, Lampkin is dealing with a stinger and it's not looking good for his availability on Friday.
Willie Lampkin just came off the field visibly frustrated and had a quick conversation with a trainer.
— EJ Smith (@EJSmith94) August 26, 2026
He’s staying out here, but he’s stretching out his neck. He just came back from a stinger. #Eagles
The only reason Lampkin isn't more highly regarded is due to his unconventionally small frame (5'11", 290 pounds). He's one rare blocker who the 6'0", 295-pound Robinson will struggle to out-leverage based on innate physical traits alone.
Beyond the intrigue of Jordan squaring off against the Bengals, the ties between Morris and Cincinnati starting left guard Dylan Fairchild, and the myriad promising o-linemen the Eagles can deploy on the interior, Lampkin-Robinson matchups were what I looked forward to most. Alas, that's unlikely to happen.
But my larger point actually stands even more. Because if Jenkins can't really stand out and gets dominated by these so-called lesser Philly players, many of whom are probably better than him, it's all but certain that Jenkins will be waived as I've predicted.
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