The Cincinnati Bengals understood the assignment this offseason and passed with flying colors. They couldn’t go into another season fielding a defensive unit that’s not good enough to finish better than the league’s bottom 10.
So, the front office went to work.
In one of the league’s biggest offseason moves, the Bengals traded this year’s 10th overall draft pick to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence. At full tilt, the 28-year-old veteran is the game’s best nose tackle. He’s a difference-maker capable of blowing up opposing offenses.
Lawrence’s addition by itself is a gigantic step in the right direction, but the Bengals did not stop there. Fellow interior defender Jonathan Allen, edge-rusher Boye Mafe and second-round rookie Cashius Howell, who is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, also joined the defensive front. Bryan Cook signed in free agency to give Cincinnati a tone-setting safety. The team drafted cornerback Tacario Davis in the third round as well.
“The front office has taken a lot of heat from the fans, the public, the media,” quarterback Joe Burrow told reporters. “We can put all of that behind us. They went and made it happen with free agency. I thought the draft, obviously, we’ll find out. We don’t know a ton about these rookies yet, but it seems like they brought the right kind of guys in. And then obviously with Dexter (Lawrence), making a trade like that, that doesn’t happen a ton in the NFL. So it’s exciting to see.”
The quarterback’s positive mental attitude is a refreshing departure from last year’s despondent tone. A fully committed and healthy Burrow, with all of the talent found around him on offense, already showed he can lead his team to a Super Bowl. But the Bengals failed to make the postseason in each of the last three season primarily because the team couldn’t play complementary football.
With the defensive pieces Cincinnati now features, the Bengals can compete for an AFC North title and a possible championship run.