this is always a fun part of the recording
because only I think Twitter and YouTube are watching this but Instagram and TikTok
are not but we're always going to wait for everyone to join in here
alright we are live it is this is the fifth week I'm losing track now. I need a reset. Good thing there's going to be one coming in
like a day or two. Happy early New Year, Bengals fans. Wherever you're checking in, whatever time zone you're checking in. I don't think anyone
is already in 2026. No, we still got 30 hours. Yeah, that sounds about right. I'm John
Sheeran of A to Z Sports Cincinnati. It's like our fourth or fifth, I think, live stream here
on A to Z Sports Cincinnati where they're watching on Facebook, TikTok
YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, never X, never calling it that. Wherever you are, whenever you are, welcome
Another win for the Bengals. Another dominant win for the Bengals as they won 37-14 against the Arizona Cardinals
Another great day for the offense. Another promising day for the defense
And the defense is going to be our main talking point here in a couple minutes
But as always, if you have any comments, questions, leave them in the chat
I'm looking at it now. If you're on TikTok, join the YouTube stream, join Facebook
or whatever the case may be in order to get your questions in as well. But we're going to go here for 25, 30 minutes
We're going to talk about the Bengals' defense. Because I remember, very much so, I remember last year
You all remember last year. How can you not? I think it's like a George Lucas quote
Like, you know, it's supposed to be like a poem, like, and how they rhyme and how the Bengals finished the 2024 season on a win streak
a five-game win streak. But they won not just because their offense was dominant
like they had been for the entire season, but the defense was pulling its weight. And you're getting new guys in there playing a quote-unquote simplified scheme
under former defense coordinator Luna Rumo. And there was this, I think we can call it now, a false hope about what that defense was
And we knew it at the time because of who the Bengals were doing that against
You're talking about the Cooper Rushes of the world, the Will Levis's of the world, DTR, Dorian Thompson Robinson for the Cleveland Browns
I'm sure there's one or two quarterbacks that I'm missing there in terms of what they were doing
But we knew that the Bengals' defense was basically like a false hope at this point last year
and there still needed to be significant changes. And those significant changes did not come
because they invested all their hope in the players that were developing
and playing well against bad opponents, bad offenses, and just hoping that that would translate into success
with a new defense coordinator. But, you know, it didn't happen. Shout out Brandon Little, who covers the Browns for us
on AAC Sports Cincinnati. Yes, I had to bring up DTR. I don't know where DTR falls in in the annals of, you know
the history of Browns quarterbacks since they restarted in 1996. He wasn't the worst, but, you know, that's a pretty low bar to hit
Yeah, that was an interesting game last year. Of course, the Bengals play the Browns on Sunday against Shadur Sanders
and that should be another interesting test for this defense because Shadur has had some highs and lows so far
in his young starting career for the Browns. But again, a lot of bad offenses, a lot of turnover-prone quarterbacks
that the Bengals' defense is popping off against. And now this year, you're seeing similar things
albeit against better offenses, at least offenses that have, I think as Joe Goodberry pointed out, at least one elite facet of their offense
Like the Miami Dolphins offense, there's nothing to write home about, but they still have an explosive run game led by Devin Aitching, right
And they shut it down. the Buffalo Bills obviously you know Josh Allen is going to be good regardless of you know which
defense he goes up against he might have some headache moments here and there but it was still
a test for them and obviously a test that they ultimately failed but they were still getting
reps and experience against quality players and quality units here but still I know that there is
fear amongst Bengals fans about last year repeating itself again in this offseason and how
the false promise of improving in the final weeks of the season the dreaded quote-unquote dead cat
bounce is going to once again cloud the Bengals front office in terms of what they should do
in the offseason and for agency I totally understand that and I think it's valid to a certain degree
but I mentioned this in the Dolphins game. It's good that at least parts of the defense are playing better
because no matter even if the Bengals operated like the Philadelphia Eagles
in terms of how they structure contracts, in terms of what contracts they offer
in terms of how they build their team and how they add to the roster in every avenue possible, right
Even if the Bengals were as aggressive as that, There is no feasible way that you can replace 9, 10, 11 starters on defense in one offseason
It's just not possible. You could use every single one of your draft picks, and you could spend tens of millions of dollars in free agency, and it still probably isn't possible
It's not possible for the Bengals. I know obviously 11 is an exaggeration, but again, most of the defense needs to change, or at least a good chunk of it needs to change, regardless of what's happening against the likes of the Quinn Ewers Dolphins or the Jacoby Brissett Cardinals, teams that are basically phoning it in that have been eliminated from the playoffs
Stuff needs to change, right? But you need some players to be improving and to show development because you can't replace everyone
It doesn't matter who you are. That type of turnaround cannot just happen in one offseason
Realistically, you're talking about four to five shots or just attempts at improving some positions on the defense
And I think some of those are pretty obvious. And that's what this video is going to be about
We're going to go through every single position and every single starter that's going to be out there on Sunday against Cleveland
And we're going to talk about if that starter should be staying as a starter in 2026 or if they should look to improve
But before we get into the players who actually are going to be on the field, we should touch on the players that may not be on the field or will not be on the field
Starting with Trey Hendrickson. I think transparency is incredibly important here. and this time last year fully firmly was in the camp of extending Trey Hendrickson to a multi contract giving him the guaranteed money that he so rightfully deserved after finishing second
in defensive player of the year voting at the age of 29, still at the peak of his career
All the evidence that I had at that point in time supported the idea that they should have
extended him before Max Crosby and Miles Garrett got their contracts in early March
And if they had done that, then Trey Hendrickson would still be under contract on a fairly reasonable deal, and they would have them in the plans in 2026
That didn't happen. And because it didn't happen, now he's going to be a free agent in 2026, and I just can't see
a path in which he comes back. Because there's no chance that they're going to give him a multi-year deal after this season, in which he only played seven games
He missed most of the year. Their fears ultimately came true. He got hurt. He got a year older, and he got more banged up. There's no
way they're going to see eye on a multi-year deal. And I don't think they want to run this back with
another franchise tag or another one year situation. I just don't think that's going to be in the cards
I don't think either side wants to do this again. And I don't think they're savvy enough to pull off
a tagging trade immediately before free agency starts, because if they do tag him and they don't
trade him until, you know, after the first couple of weeks of free agency, they have to eat that 30
million or so cap hit for the franchise tag. I just don't think it's going to happen
Duran Rickson I think is going to be gone Cam Taylor Britt I think is going to be gone too
obviously a much more manageable financial decision there because he's only been on a rookie contract
and two years ago he was thought to be a potential extension candidate
after the 2023 season that he had an ascending starter, a leader of the defense
who's just not been that in his last two years, he's been anything but dependable
he's been benched multiple times and now he's coming off, he's about to come off a season ending injury, I just don't think he's
coming back either, even on a value deal I think that's another situation in which both sides are going to want to move on
You get a fresh start. Remember, some of these guys were drafted or helped draft by a defense coordinator that wasn't here anymore
You know, some of these guys, Al Golden, ultimately didn't inherit. And Taylor Britt just wasn't a good player in Al Golden's scheme
Obviously, the scheme itself has a lot of questions, but you didn't see the jump that you needed to see from Taylor Britt
You saw it from DJ Turner. You saw it from Dax Hill. Both those guys are locked in on the boundary as your outside quarterbacks for 2026
I don't think that there's any room for Taylor Britt at this point, even on a very cheap one-year deal
especially when you don't know when he's going to be healthy in 2026. Joseph Asai is another interesting one here
Again, he might be out there on Sunday. I think that that door is open. But let's just assume for now that he's not because he's missed the last handful of games
He signed a one-year deal last year or this past offseason as a prove-it deal
knowing that he was going to play more and knowing that he had the opportunity to really boost his production
and therefore boost his value the next time that he hit the open market
I don't think he did that. I think he's been the same pass rusher that he has been for the past couple of years
And that's a solid one. I think from week one to now, including Trey Hendrickson, including Miles Murphy, from week one to week 18
he's been their best overall pass rusher off the edge. but obviously when we transition now to the players who are actually going to be on the field
miles murphy is going to be starting in 2026 he just is like he's not only going to be starting
he's going to be counted on to be one of the faces of this defense one of the leaders of this defense
he was drafted in 2023 to ultimately replace trey hendrickson and that is what he's going to be
finally doing in 2026 there's always this question about which side of the defensive line is he most
comfortable on because he only played right defensive end at clemson i mean obviously couldn't get on the field at that spot when jerry hendrickson was on the field because he never moved
from right defensive end that spot's completely open now it has been open since hendrickson got
injured in week six it just like it's the easiest just like it it's already said it's it's written
in stone i'm stuttering here because it's so it's so simple i think it's been very promising regardless
of the competition that some of these quarterbacks that they face it's been very promising to see
Miles Murphy truly take the necessary steps as a complete overall player
not just a pass rusher, but also in run defense, in his production and stopping the run
It's that relentless effort and that speed and that burst that's finally being put together with stringing together pass rushing moves
and overall awareness on the field. He's not quite what you really want from a first-round pick
but he's so much better now compared to where he was last year. and yeah they're going to move forward with him as a full-time starter in 2026 I have no doubt
about it I do have some doubts about Shamar Stewart in that regard but obviously being a
first-round pick and being the explosive athlete that he is when he's healthy which unfortunately
for Stewart being injured twice having the high ankle sprain and having the knee injury has done
nothing but hindered his overall offensive this year the high ankle sprain especially sucks because
I think his bend is probably the best on the team, and it definitely takes a hit when you suffer an ankle sprain of that variety
So we just never really saw even the exciting raw version of Shamar Stewart
We never quite saw that outside of a couple of weeks this year. So they're going to be expecting that in 2026
I don't know if they expect him to be a full-time starter as of now
I would imagine that in a world without Trey Hendrickson and without Joseph Osai, you need at least one other guy to play significant snaps off the edge, either starting over Stewart or making sure that if Stewart does struggle and he's still developing, because I wouldn't expect him to be as competent as Miles Murphy is until maybe 2027
Like that's just the track that you're working with when you're taking a guy who is 21 years old and still needed so much work as a pass rusher
I don't think you can expect that from Stewart in 2026, but I do expect him to play significant snaps
And he's going to be probably starting or at some point in 2026
So Jason Dove asks, you don't think Asai will be back? I think it's possible. I really do
Like I don't think that they dislike him at all in the building. I think that they still value him as a player
It's just about what other value can they get on the open market or potentially in the draft
They could potentially get younger. They're still pretty young in 26. But I just think that this year was not quite the year that they had in mind for him or that he had in mind for himself
I think everyone expected a jump from last year. And again, he basically stayed the same
So does that mean that they offer him basically the same contract and expect him to come back on another one year deal
Maybe. but if I'm him and I get a multi-year deal elsewhere at this point
after taking a one-year deal, I think that's probably where I would go if I was him. So that's kind of where my mindset is with Joseph Asai
And again, like I think it would make sense for that kind of player to be, to be continued to be paired with Shamar Stewart going forward
But I'm just, I'm on the fence right now and I'm more leaning towards no
As far as defensive tackles go, BJ Hill is coming back in 2026
I think as soon as he signed that contract, that three-year contract with, I think about half of it was paid up front immediately
There was still enough in terms of dead money in 2026 to keep him here for two years
It was essentially a two-year deal with a third-year option. He going to be starting quote but I do think that they saw this year the benefit of having other pass rushing defensive tackles kind of rotate in and out with him during the game
specifically on passing downs, and how much that helps out B.J. Hill go through the rest of the games and ultimately through the rest of the season
It was the formula that helped him thrive in 2021 in that Super Bowl year, obviously when they had Larry Ogunjobe in there
he's never a true he's not a true three down defensive tackle at this point in his career
and that's a fair evaluation and if they do find someone who can be a true difference maker
in two years time maybe in the draft like a peter woods for example i'm i'm just way too early for
draft talk for me but that's just a name that's been thrown around a little bit in bangle circles
if they find a difference maker like that like they presumably wanted with both byron murphy and
Walter Nolan. I could definitely see them going that route, but BJ Hill is going to be here. He's
going to be playing a significant role in 2026. He's been the same player since 2021. He has not
fallen off and they gave him the three-year deal last year for a reason. TJ Slayton is more of an
interesting topic for me because he's got one year left on his deal. You didn't really see
what you wanted from him until like, I think he's been one of the players that has kind of
ascended in these past couple of weeks as the rest of the defense has gotten better
So it's been discouraging the fact that for most of the year, he hasn't been the kind of nose tackle that they wanted to really just
you know, clog space at the point of attack, two gap potentially take on multiple blockers
I think he's been very up and down this year. And that's why ultimately, you know, it was a modest two-year deal
And they can easily get out of it this year. I could see a situation in which if something arises
and maybe there's like a veteran that they don't expect to hit the open market
Maybe he gets cut as a cap casualty in March, and he's a nose tackle
And they view him as a better player than TJ Slayton. I think that's a scenario in which they can move on from Slayton
But if something like that doesn't pop up, I don't think that they're necessarily, like, desperate to move on from TJ Slayton
There's still that relationship with defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery. Mind you, Montgomery coached TJ Slayton with the Green Bay Packers before
obviously, Montgomery and Slayton both joined the Bengals in 2025. So there's still that relationship there
And again, Slayton has improved as the year went on, so that definitely helps him stay around in 2025
But I wouldn't say his job is completely secure because it hasn't been until recently that he's really shown to be the player that they signed him to be back in March
So ultimately, you're looking at one or two ancillary pieces, I would imagine, along the defensive line
But I think the defensive line, for the most part, is going to stay. And that's mainly due to Chris Jenkins taking a slight jump as a pass rusher
McKinley Jackson finally playing and looking competent in a rotational role. So you feel more comfortable about the depth at defensive tackle
and you definitely feel comfortable about where Miles Murphy is as a starter going forward
You just got to make sure that Shamar Stewart has enough support where he's not completely dependent on to be a full-time starter in 2026
Because, again, I just don't think he's quite ready for that, and they're probably going to be looking for another body at defensive end
Linebacker now. Oh, boy. it should be noted that Logan Wilson and Jermaine Pratt weren't exactly stars or studs when they
first started their careers they were both you know mid-round picks Wilson was a third-round pick
Pratt was a third-round pick as well it's where Barrett Carter and you know Demetrius Knight Jr
kind of fall as well guys that I think should have been better coming out the gate than they
were because honestly they've been two of the worst line packers in the NFL for the entire year
right they've taken leaps in recent weeks I think Demetrius Knight had his best game of his career
against the Cardinals and Barry Carter I think has had more promising moments but he's also had
lower lows like at this point it's just impossible to trust Carter to tackle the space and that's not
what you want for your middle linebacker right he's just he's just so much worse or so much
further away than what I expect him to be because he was a solid player at Clemson and I'm imagining
now that the scheme very much helped him out. But for an experienced captain, leader at a program like that
to just completely fall on his face so many times as a rookie starter
it's been very discouraging, especially considering the fact that Al Golden has such a history of linebackers
That was the position that he coached with the Bengals in 2020, 2021. He was one of the reasons why both Wilson and Pratt ascended in those years
So to see both of these guys just fill everything with just so much uncertainty about where they're going to be next year
it's not a good spot to be in. But, again, as they've slightly, very slightly improved
the rest of the defense around them has improved, and I don't think that's a coincidence. I don't think – excuse me
I don't think that you can count on both of them to be a starter in week one next year
I really don't. and excuse me I wouldn't trust both of them to be a starter next year
at least in week one I do think that you need some sort of veteran presence
out there I don't think you can roll out another rookie or maybe invest another premium pick in that position
especially because you just had the opportunity this past year to do that
and I don't think you can trust the eyes in Al Golden
or whoever's making these decisions to bring in another rookie linebacker to start, I think you need to survey the veteran free agency market
and bring in a guy who can start a linebacker. Whether it's Mike, whether it's Will, whatever the case may be
I don't think it's a safe play to bring back or to have both those guys starting next year
Again, it could be a one-year deal situation. Josh Bynes is such a perfect example of this
Bynes was brought in in 2020 to just bring stability to that position group because remember, before Zach Taylor in the Marvin Lewis era
linebacker was always a constant liability outside of like Montez Burkitt and Donnie Jones
and Thomas Howard like they were just finding these these answers in these very unlikely avenues
and there was never this long-term solution there it was always just very up and down and a lot of
unreliable players there Josh Bynes brought some stability there for a year and allowed the bridge
to be gapped between like Jermaine Pratt and Logan Wilson they need that Josh Bynes again and I think
they hoped that that was going to be Warren Burks but honestly guys Warren Burks has been even worse
than Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter and that's been that's been maybe the more disappointing
development there his tackling is terrible his ability and coverage is not there he looks like
a completely different player than where he was with the Eagles last year maybe that's due to the
fact that he went from Dick Fangio to Alan Golden but regardless I I could see Warren Burks being
like one of the biggest cap casualties of the soft season. And there's not going to be very money for the Bengals just looking at the
contracts that they have on the books for 2026. But I don't think that you can bring back Burks
He's been nothing that he needed to be outside of just special teams. Right
Like maybe that, maybe that's his value, but you're still paying like, you know, two and a half million for him to be in that role
And there's a reason why he only played five snaps last week on defense
Well, Knight and Carter took the majority of them. I think he's been phased out of the defense
and I just don't see the value in him being brought back at this point. You need a replacement for Oren Burks to give them that third option that they can lean on if Carter and Knight do not take the steps forward
Really should have cleared my throat before this. But quarterback is pretty straightforward
Dax Hill and D.J. Turner are your starters next year. Nothing more needs to be said there
It's been such a relief that moving Dax to the outside from the nickel
in the middle of the season after Dax Hill's career has been full of position changes from
safety to outside cornerback to tearing his ACL to nickel to where he was in college in Michigan
where he thrived and why he was a first-round pick to then be moved back out to the boundary
with Cantrell-Britt's injury and then to thrive at that spot over these past six seven weeks
it's been awesome and it gives them so much more security at that spot entering the offseason
And knowing that obviously Cam Taylor-Bridge is probably not coming back, it was a potential big need for this defense if Dax hasn't
if he wasn't the guy that he's been in these past two months. But the evaluation on Dax, I think, has been the same in that building
They are extremely high on him, and they love the fact that he's now thriving
And it would not surprise me if they approached him with an extension offer
as a cornerback, not just a nickelback. And he can make a lot more money as a cornerback, too
So that moved worked out well for both him and the defense as a whole
And I've come on this channel on, you know, on the videos on TikTok and Instagram
pounding the table for DJ Turner to be a pro bowler. He definitely deserved that honor
He's been lights out this year. His ball production has been outstanding. He's allowing only like 45% of his passes completed in his coverage
He's been amazing. So they have two, you know, at this point, high quality cornerbacks are playing like
high quality cornerbacks right now starting for them. And Jalen Davis has been really solid in the slot
What a story he is, right? And he's been here since 2020 as a practice squad guy
He's been on and off the roster, bouncing off on one-year deals and on the practice squad, just buying his time
And now finally, as a starter, he's thriving at 29 years old. It's been an awesome story for him
I don't know if they're going to view him as an unquestioned starter in 2026, but I definitely imagine he's going to be back
He's not going to be very expensive to resign. and if you are in a situation where like maybe you have him competing with Josh Duden to be your
starting nickelback I think they'd be more than comfortable with that so a cornerback it doesn't look like it's going to be a bunch of changes in 2026. Can't say the same about safety though
I made a video earlier today about Geno Stone about the likelihood of him coming back and how
that likelihood is basically next to zero. Al Golden said some things earlier this week about
how he's seen Geno Stone improve and be the leader that the defense needs
and making the right calls and all this stuff. And he was basically trying to – he preys on a guy that has toughed out
a year in which he played with a pay cut and it was a bunch of fluff
I'm not buying into it for one second. Geno Stone has been one of the few players on this defense that hasn't improved
as the rest of the defense has taken the step forward. He's the same player. He has the same liability coming down the hill as a tackler
playing deep coverages as a free safety. His good players are few and so far between
He's a liability out there in both phases against the run in the pass. It sucks because that wasn't who he was in Baltimore
and you can probably credit Mike McDonald, the former defense coordinator, who's now a Coach of the Year candidate for the Seattle Seahawks
You can probably credit him for putting him in the best possible situations, and you can credit him for getting him paid like he did by the Bengals a couple years ago
two years, $14 million. You look at him in the past two years, you would never imagine that he got that contract
There's a reason why the Bengals cut his pen this offseason. They already knew that their evaluation of Geno Stone is wrong or was wrong
And they've seen him be the same exact player in 2025 as he was in 2024
The difference is that, unlike in 2024, when he actually capitalized in the final five weeks of the season playing against bad quarterbacks, that hasn't been the same this year
He's still the same liability. He hasn't seen his own dead cat bounce like he did last year
And that dead cat bounce was the only reason why he was offered a pay cut and not just straight up cut off the roster
The Bengals will be getting a new free safety. I say free safety and I don't mean the Earl Thomas type Reggie Nelson type that's just not what NFL
defenses need anymore like it helps to have god it would really help to have a Jesse Bates or
Xavier Watts it helps to have a guy that can you know play single high like that but it's not needed
you just need someone that can pair with a guy like Jordan Battle play split safety one that
comes down in the box every now and then have them rotate before and after the snap like that's what
you need going forward in NFL defenses today. You don't need a guy that can just be on an island back there like an Earl
Thomas or Reggie Nelson. And that was never Geno Stone. That was never him in Baltimore
And I think that's what they thought he was going to be. And it's been a complete miss
I just can't see the Bengals re-signing him. I just can't see it. I think it would be an even worse decision than re-signing Bobby Hart to a
three-year $21 million deal. And that happened in Zach Taylor's first off season in which he wasn't hired
until like February, and they made so many questionable decisions in free agency that year
I just can't see it. They're going to replace Geno Stone at safety
I'm basically writing it in Sharpie. I already said on Twitter that I would eat that tweet if Geno Stone did resign
and I'll say it again. I will eat that tweet if Geno Stone resigns
Jordan Battle is a more interesting one because it's still really hard
to figure out if he's good or not. His lows are Geno Stone-esque in which there's like a switch in his brain that turns off
and suddenly he just forgets that the play is going on or that he has to tackle someone
But he does find the ball more than anyone on this defense, whether it be forcing fumbles or intercepting passes
Some of that is not sustainable necessarily, but you know that it's in him
And I think that instills confidence in a guy who really has only been a starter for one year
Paul Diener Jr. said that within the building they view Jordan Battle as a starter
going forward and I have to believe that I would imagine that he is
one of the starting safeties in 2026 and there's not going to be much
competition for him if a scenario happens in which they sign a free safety
if they sound like a Brian Cook in free agency which would be like the big swing
and then they have the opportunity to draft Caleb Downs which by the way
I think is entirely possible. I think it's entirely possible that a guy like Downs could fall to the Bengals in the
draft, whether picking like 10 or 11, because he's a safety. And I think someone who's 20
21 years old, who is a five-star recruit, who's played in two major programs, who's had
incredible tackling production and who's played at the biggest stages, I think that player makes
a ton of sense to the Bengals in the draft based off their history. I think it's entirely possible
that the Bengals could target Caleb Downs regardless of what they do in free agency
Maybe that would be the scenario which Jordan Battle gets booted off as a starter. I don't
I don't think Jordan Battle is prohibiting them from drafting a guy like Caleb Downs that can completely change the makeup of the leadership of your defense
But maybe they... they draft Caleb Downs to start next to Jordan Battle, right
Regardless, I think they like Jordan Battle enough where they would be comfortable with having him start
But again, maybe it's like a TJ Slade where that's the plan and the plans may change if a better opportunity
or if a better upgrade comes available to them. But you're talking Miles Murphy, B.J. Hill, Shamar Stewart
TJ Sladen, one of the linebackers, both cornerbacks, one of the safeties
So really, you're talking about you probably need to add a defensive tackle
a defensive end, a linebacker, and a safety. You're talking about four meaningful additions
to this defense in the hopes of really bringing it over the top. You're obviously hoping that some of this
development carries over into next year. You're praying that the light does click for either
Barry Carter or Demetrius Knight. One of them has to hit at the end of the day and it's very possible that neither one of them hit because
they've been so bad this year it's been undeniable I think they're counting on one of them to hit I
don't think they can rely on both of them to hit next year which is why I think they're going to give them give one of them some help it's always a good idea to add defensive linemen every single
offseason regardless of how good or bad the situation is there and I think they will add
someone on the edge and they will look to add a defensive tackle it may not be a guarantee because
for whatever reason the past couple of years they haven't been too you know excited to put
like it hasn't worked out hasn't worked out in their favor either like he gets drafted right
before them in the first round or money is spent elsewhere in free agency but i do think a defensive
tackle is possible a linebacker is very likely if not a guarantee and a safety is a guarantee as well
the spine of the defense seems to be the key here because the perimeter right now
Looks as promising as it has been in a long time. I think it's been so huge that Dax Hill looks as promising as he does
and that just eliminates the potential need there. So, again, if you're looking for this defense to replace seven, eight starters
I think you're mistaken. But four? Three or four meaningful additions, whether in both free agency and the draft
and a combination of both I think that what you looking at I going to go through some comments here
Dasha Walters, bring DJ Reader back. So DJ Reader is going to be a free agent this year
He signed a two-year contract with the Lions a couple off seasons ago. Again, he's going to be two years older
and I think the Bengals were already weary about giving him guaranteed money at that point in his career
But as a guy who can play rotational minutes, like, yeah, 100% rotational snaps as a no-stackle, I would be down for that
I think, you know, regardless of the fact that, you know, the coaching staff has changed on that side of the ball
I think he's still well-respected in the building. He's well-respected in the locker room for the guys that know him who have stuck around since then
I think that makes a lot of sense, but it might just come down to whether or not he wants to start
and maybe he wouldn't be able to start with his defense. But, you know, this is going to be, I think, his 11th year in the NFL
And quite the career he's had. Jason Duff, Oren Burks played too much
He was awful. It sucks because he wasn't awful at the beginning of the season. He was arguably their best linebacker after the first couple of weeks
when the defense wasn't that big of an issue. Like, the defense didn't look so hopelessly lost until, like, week three or four
And even still, like, week three was such an anomaly with a bunch of turnovers
and whatnot. and Oren Burks like really just fell off a cliff as the season went on
And maybe that's the case for a guy who would, you know, just turn 30 years old. Maybe it's just time, but yeah, it's
it sucks because like he was a pretty good player in situational spots for the
Eagles last year when they won the Superbowl. And maybe that was just the product of him being around a bunch of good
good players with a good coordinator as well. Josh Powell, which defensive tackles are worth bringing back? Again
I think Hill's coming back. I think that's pretty much set in stone with this contract
They're not cutting Chris Jenkins three years into his deal. McKinley Jackson is interesting
I feel like I should have talked about him a little bit more. He requested a trade in the middle of the season because he wasn't even being active
He wasn't even dressing in these games. He was being sat behind Jordan Jefferson, who was claimed in the beginning of October
And I think that was a wake-up call to the coaching staff and maybe the front office general
Like, hey, let's see what this guy can do. He wants to be traded Clearly he thinks that he can do something And again just like last year at the end of last year he flashed I think more than they expected and as a guy that can you know be that
fourth defensive tackle in your rotation whether he's a three technique or maybe a shaded two eye
we can play like 10 15 snaps a game I think he's fine he's not he's never going to be like the the
value that you want for a third round pick but I think the flash is there to the worth keeping him
like Howard Cross like you know he's gonna be in training camp and whatnot but he's not stopping
you from bringing in someone else so I would imagine I could definitely see a scenario which
the four main defensive tackles BJ Hill TJ Slayton Chris Jenkins McKinley Jackson are all back and
like adding either a nose tackle or a pass rushing three technique to really round out the group
chris green and bomb the problem is battle is the liability as well yeah it definitely looks
that way in certain occasions it's why it's so confounding to me like evaluating him as a player
like the best that i could explain is that he is he's one of those guys that if you place him
in an elite defense like he'll survive he'll keep his head above water and you're not going to
notice him as much as a liability but if you have guys like geno stone and you know barrett carter
around him also missing tackles like he somehow gets more exposed and he's not able to overcome
other deficiencies around him and it's hard describing those players but you definitely
know when you see it so i again like i think pairing him with a more competent safety who's
more aware of where he is and can actually tackle, I think that would do well for him
And again, there's confidence within the building that he is still improving
and he's good enough to start next year. And I see why that's the case to an extent
but you cannot roll out the same safety pairing next year. And I don't think that's in the plan at all
One more here is Miles Murphy going to make a comeback. I think he's coming back right now
Is he not? Like the whole thing with 2024. You know after a rookie season which he didn really play that much you know he suffered a knee injury in training camp and that really derailed the first half of that season for him And you saw some flashes when he was finally playing behind Sam Hubbard
but you knew that this year was the year that he needed to break out
If he didn't show what he's shown in these past eight weeks
you would feel really concerned about the defensive end position for the Bengals in 2026
Because obviously, Shemar Stewart is still a major mystery. and I think Miles Murphy is proof that it's okay to say hey if a guy is extremely raw coming out
of college he's 21 years old it may take him three years to get to where he needs to be
and of course that can lead to how you may think about the pick in general but Miles Murphy is
proof that Shamar Stewart probably does need more time than you may expect and that's why in 2026 so
much weight and pressure is going to be placed upon miles murphy to keep this up to keep his
individual progression going forward because he needs to be their best pass rusher in 2026
if not it's because they paid a lot more than i would have imagined that they're going to pay
for an ancillary pass rushing piece there or they're going to draft another defensive end
in the first or second round and to be one of the best pass rushers that they've ever drafted
whether they drafted in recent memory that's the pressure that's on miles murphy so it's not really
a comeback, it's really just about stacking what he's done. Stacking what I've done on this stream, I think
I don't know where I was going with that. But, you know, it's been promising this month doing these with all of you guys and having hundreds of people watch
every single week. It's been a lot of fun. And I was really excited about the show because I
finally had some sort of cohesive idea and was going to talk about multiple players
and multiple positions instead of just ranting about just one thing in particular. But last week was the holidays. This week is the end of the year
And just like the Bengals defense is probably excited about some improvements
that they're going to make. I'm excited about the improvements that this channel is going to make. The improvements of quality of the stream and keep building and keep
building this community with all of you guys that are joining in week in and week out. So
I appreciate all of you guys tuning in. I appreciate all the questions. Appreciate all of you guys on TikTok
Instagram, Facebook, wherever you are, wherever you are, whether you're in Cincinnati
or elsewhere i appreciate you tuning in and we'll see you next week we'll see you next year i guess