Were it not for an injury that sidelined Joe Burrow from Weeks 3-12 last season, the Cincinnati Bengals could have made a serious playoff run despite their struggles on defense. While they are running it back with the same head coach and coordinators, they made significant additions on defense this offseason, and expectations are high for the 2026 season.
Here is our 2026 preview for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Key Free Agency/Trade Additions
Position Player 2025 PFF Grade EDGE Boye Mafe 70.3 DI Dexter Lawrence 75.6 DI Jonathan Allen 53.2 S Bryan Cook 83.5 CB Ja’Sir Taylor 41.2 S Kyle Dugger 49.6Trading the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for star nose tackle Dexter Lawrence was the splash move few expected the Bengals to make. Lawrence's 2025 season was a down year, with his 75.6 PFF overall grade marking the second-lowest of his seven-year NFL career, but his struggles came primarily against the run. As a pass rusher, he earned a PFF pass-rush grade above 80.0 for the fourth straight season, and at 28 years old, he is still young enough for the Bengals to reasonably believe last season's struggles against the run were just a blip.
While the addition of Lawrence will grab the headlines, adding Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook could prove just as impactful. Both are just four years into their NFL careers, with Mafe recording at least 40 total pressures in each of the past three seasons and Cook coming off a career-high 83.5 PFF overall grade in 2025.
2026 NFL Draft Class
Position Player 2025 PFF Grade EDGE Cashius Howell 81.2 CB Tacario Davis 67.2 C Connor Lew 67.8 WR Colbie Young 76.3 G Brian Parker II 85.5 TE Jack Endries 68.5 DT Landon Robinson 78.2After focusing on defense in free agency, the Bengals continued that trend with their first two selections in the 2026 NFL Draft. Cashius Howell earned a PFF pass-rush grade above 90.0 in each of his final three college seasons, while Tacario Davis allowed just 15 receptions on 238 coverage snaps in 2025.
On Day 3, the Bengals targeted the offensive line with two of their five selections, with Connor Lew and Brian Parker II projected to serve as interior backups this season. Lew earned a PFF overall grade above 65.0 in each of his final three seasons at Auburn and could be the long-term answer at center after Ted Karras. Parker wasn't selected until the sixth round, but he earned an 85.5 PFF overall grade at right tackle last season and could prove to be one of the steals of the draft.
Reasons for optimism
The Bengals' offensive line has been much maligned in recent years, but it performed at an average level in the second half of last season. From Weeks 10-18, just one starting offensive lineman earned a PFF overall grade below 60.0. That came after only one starter earned a PFF overall grade above 60.0 in the first half of the season.
The biggest improvement came in pass protection, where four of the Bengals' five starters earned PFF pass-blocking grades of 74.0 or better. They shouldn't be expected to field a top-five offensive line, but they have the potential to be an average unit in 2026.
The additions of Dexter Lawrence, Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook could be transformational for a Bengals defense that struggled throughout the first half of the 2025 season, even after losing Trey Hendrickson in free agency. The second half of last season also provided reason for optimism, with Myles Murphy producing the best stretch of his career and earning a 72.0 PFF overall grade over the final eight games of the season.
While not to the same extent, the Bengals also saw improvements from their rookie linebacker duo. Demetrious Knight and Barrett Carter earned PFF overall grades of 33.6 and 36.2, respectively, over the first nine weeks of the season before improving to 56.7 and 48.8 from Week 10 onward. That might not seem significant, but Knight ranked 58th among 58 qualifying linebackers in PFF overall grade during the first half of the season before improving to 35th among 55 in the second half. Carter improved from 56th among 58 to 48th among 55 over the same span.
The QB Annual Is LiveEvery qualifying quarterback. Every metric that matters. PFF grades, passing splits, EPA per dropback, clutch performance, interception luck and more — all in one interactive guide built on the same data trusted by all 32 NFL teams.
Read the QB Annual (opens in new tab)Get PFF+ (opens in new tab)Reason for pessimism
Optimism about the offensive line should be tempered given the small sample size of its improvement late last season, and it is not outside the realm of possibility that the unit regresses in 2026, even if the arrow is pointing up.
Burrow has played 10 or fewer games in three of his six NFL seasons, and the Bengals need to keep him healthy in 2026 if they are going to contend. Responsibility is shared between Burrow and the offensive line. The pass protection has not been good enough for much of his career, and Burrow has never posted a pressure-to-sack rate below 19.0% in a season. If he stays healthy throughout the 2026 season, the Bengals will have a legitimate chance to compete for a championship.
Breakout Candidate
The Bengals drafted guard Dylan Fairchild with the 81st overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and the former Georgia Bulldog started 15 games as a rookie. Over the final eight games of the season, his 74.3 PFF pass-blocking grade ranked first among rookie guards and fourth among all rookie offensive linemen. He is capable of developing into the Bengals' best offensive lineman by the end of the 2026 season.
Key roster battles
Dax Hill and DJ Turner II are locked into the top two cornerback spots, while Jalen Davis played 270 snaps from Week 12 onward last season.
Davis will have competition, though, after the Bengals signed Ja'Sir Taylor in free agency. Josh Newton played 275 snaps in 2025, earning a 63.9 PFF coverage grade, but logged just five snaps in the box or slot from Week 10 onward. Given his size, Tacario Davis appears to be a better fit as an outside corner.
If the third-round draft pick impresses early, the Bengals could move Hill into a full-time slot role after he played more than half of his snaps there in 2025.
PFF Premium StatsDive into our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL and NCAA player performance data.
NFL Premium Stats (opens in new tab)College Football Premium Stats (opens in new tab)