When the Cincinnati Bengals were in base defense in 2025, they were the worst defense in the NFL.
They allowed 6.1 yards per play when they were in base defense (a bigger personnel grouping with seven defensive linemen/linebackers and four defensive backs), which was the worst in the league. They allowed a staggering five yards per rush when they were in base defense (twice as many yards per rush as the Seahawks allowed when Seattle was in base defense).
Since last season ended, the Bengals have been very open about the fact that their base defense was the wrong base defense last year. This year, they finally have the pieces to execute what they believe to be the right one.
The problem last year was that when the Bengals were in base defense, then-rookie linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. had to play the edge out of necessity.
Knight had enough on his plate already during a challenging and difficult rookie season, but the Bengals didn’t have anyone else to fill that role. As a result, he lined up on the edge 173 times. That package didn’t work. Al Golden said at the combine back in February, “I would prefer not to ask Demetrius to play on the line of scrimmage as much as we did.”
While the Bengals only had one solution to that combo/edge problem last season, they have several answers that they can turn to in these base packages in 2026.
“I think obviously we have a lot more outside backer types for sure now,” Golden said on Monday. “We have a bunch of different guys that have really come through for us there as edge setters, and (it) keeps (Knight) off the ball and allows him to run and hit. It just makes us a better defense.”
Free agent signing Boye Mafe brings the speed and quick twitch athleticism that the Bengals value in the passing game. He also has the physicality and the motor to make an impact in the run game. Golden cites Mafe as an “outside backer” type whose versatility can make an impact on the edge in the Bengals’ base defense.
This combo/edge role also looks like rookie Cashius Howell’s ticket onto the field on early downs.
The Bengals drafted him to rush the passer, and he has demonstrated that quickness and that ability to finish all summer. But he also provides more value against the run than might have been expected before the draft.
“Hitting on Cashius, I can’t underscore how important that is,” Golden said. “He has come through for us in terms of his intellect, his work ethic, his ability to process, and his learning curve. He’s done a really good job.”
Howell’s shoulders look so much stronger than they did when the Bengals drafted him in April. He has become a more powerful player, and that should give him a chance to make an impact as an early down edge setter in the role that Knight filled in 2025.
“I’ve honed in on my strength and anchor within the run defense,” Howell said. “That’s something I’ve taken seriously in the offseason. Small things like hand placement, footwork in run defense. Understanding where to put my hands, get off the ball and play on the other side of the line of scrimmage. My versatility is going to be very important.”
The Bengals broke a long-standing team draft trend when they selected Howell in the second round. For years, they’ve prioritized big, long, 270+ pound defensive ends. Howell was the quickest and the leanest edge that the team has selected in years. While Mafe weighs 265 pounds, he also gives the Bengals that different style on the edge.
Also this year, the Bengals have versatility along the rest of the defensive line to match the new-found versatility that they have on the edge.
In 2025, Shemar Stewart was really only healthy for one game. He popped in Week 1 against the Browns last season. But while he appeared in seven other games, he was never really right as he dealt with multiple injuries.
Stewart suffered a serious scare on his first day of camp this year but avoided a worst-case scenario. The hyperextended knee cost him training camp, but he’s already back on the practice field. It hasn’t been ruled out that he plays in Week 1.
When he’s healthy, Stewart gives the Bengals a distinct combination of size, length, power and punch at defensive end. He profiles as the team’s best run stopper at that position, if he’s consistent enough to get on and stay on the field.
“He needed the offseason and he needed training camp and he didn’t get that,” Golden said. “There’s nothing we can do about that… Clearly, this is Year 2 for him, too. It’s not like a year ago where everything was new both in technique and concept. From that standpoint, the journey shouldn’t be as long to try to get him back.”
The Dexter Lawrence trade significantly changes the Bengals’ run defense plan for the better. One of the many benefits is that it allows BJ Hill to do what he does best.
Hill’s biggest strength has always been his versatility. In 2021 and 2022, he was at his best when he was able to move around the defensive line and play different roles. Between 2023 and 2025, while he was the Bengals’ best defensive tackle, he was also miscast as the player who had to carry the interior pass rusher and as the player who even had to plug the run as a nose tackle at times. The Bengals couldn’t afford to take him off the field, so he was taxed and had to play too many snaps.
The Bengals’ newfound depth in the trenches should help Hill deliver a bounceback season.
“You can just roll so many guys in,” Hill said. “It’ll help everybody out. Fresh guys are the best guys. If you have fresh guys rolling, it’s hard for the offense to stop. We all can do it all. Pass rush. Run game. If you want us to drop back like a linebacker, we can do that, too.”
The last trick up the Bengals’ sleeve on the defensive line comes from one of the most under-the-radar guys on the team.
Don’t forget about defensive tackle/nose tackle TJ Slaton.
Heading into 2025, the Bengals were operating with very limited available cap space. The fact that they made Slaton their highest-paid addition showed how they valued his game.
Slaton went on to have a disappointing 2025 season. Then, trading for Lawrence in the offseason created questions about what Slaton’s role was going to be going forward.
Slaton responded by having an encouraging training camp according to Golden, who said that Slaton was in great shape.
It looks like there will be ways to use both Slaton and Lawrence on the field together in 2026.
“My role has expanded a lot,” Slaton said. “A whole bunch. I’m playing the four (over the offensive tackle) sometimes, maybe the five (more toward the edge). It’s something new that you’ve got to get comfortable with.”
Slaton said that before this summer, he had almost no experience playing those types of roles. NFL Pro’s database goes back to 2022, and it says that Slaton only has 10 career snaps off of the defensive tackle position over the previous four seasons. He has spent nearly his entire career at nose tackle (playing over the center).
When the Bengals want to get bigger personnel on the field, playing Slaton next to Lawrence gives the Bengals’ run defense a powerful wrinkle.
“It’s going to be hella hard (to run the ball),” Slaton said. “We’re all guys who want to make the play. We all want to be that guy for the team. It’s going to be tough.”
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