Sports Illustrated Names Bengals Among Five NFL Teams With Most Work To Do Before NFL Draft

Cincinnati has taken a patient approach.

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki (88) reacts reacts to getting a first down in overtime of the NFL game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati has arguably not improved its 2024 roster in free agency as of this writing. It prompted Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano to name them fourth among teams with the most work to do ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Cincinnati has signed one projected starting-caliber exterior free agent: T.J. Slaton.

"The Bengals deserve a ton of credit for re-signing wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, but that just kept their elite offense intact and did nothing for their poor defense," Manzano wrote. "There’s also the possibility of the team losing edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who’s in his second year of searching for a better contract. It wouldn’t be a reach to say this defense doesn’t have a young core player after years of the front office whiffing on draft picks. 

"It will be vital for Duke Tobin, Cincinnati’s director of player personnel, to hit on defensive draft picks this season because he’s currently at risk of wasting another prime year of Joe Burrow’s career with a defense that looks worse than last year and no longer has Lou Anarumo, who unfairly took the blame for the disastrous season on that side of the ball. Perhaps new defensive coordinator Al Golden can incorporate a productive scheme that doesn’t require a handful of star players."

Golden has a massive overhaul to pull off if this is largely what he'll have to work with in 2025. Sure, the defense will get a few more pieces from the draft, but those are young players who can't be immediately expected to contribute heavily.

We've seen how hard it's been for Cincinnati to draft on that side of the ball, with no clear defensive Bengal hits since the 2021 NFL Draft. Cam Taylor-Britt is the only cemented defensive starter drafted by the front office in that span.

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