Dating back to the Marvin Lewis era, the Cincinnati Bengals have held a significant focus on their defensive backs. From a long stretch where it seemed that the team selected a corner with every other first round pick in the late 2000s to early 2010s, this team has placed a serious emphasis on the secondary. While this team has had unprecedented success during the first few years of head coach Zac Taylor, that appears to be one of the biggest shifts during his tenure.
Cincinnati Bengals Season Will Come Down to Defensive Secondary
While most of those draft picks under Lewis never seemed to work out, the focus on the secondary was a decision that certainly fits with the current NFL model. After all, with the rapid progression of the passing game at the professional level, the ability to defend the pass is arguably the most significant part of a defense.
During Taylor’s tenure, the team has suffered severe attrition and will be starting one of the least experienced pairs of cornerbacks that this team has started in decades. While 2022 second round pick Cam Taylor-Britt and 2023 second round pick D.J. Turner have shown signs of excellence, there have also been some serious red flags concerning their consistency. Turner started off last season looking like a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate before his analytical numbers torpedoed to remarkable lows during the second half of last season while Taylor-Britt has shown signs of injury woes.
On top of the youth movement at the cornerback position, this team made a conscious decision to go with quantity over quality at the safety position next season as the team picked up two average free agent safeties in Vonn Bell and Geno Stone. While many analysts have praised the acquisition of Stone given his total of seven interceptions last season was second in the NFL, it is apparent that most of those interceptions were due to easy late-game picks rather than quality defending. The team will still have outstanding rookie standout Jordan Battle starting but expectations should be tampered.
After an unfortunate season that saw Cincinnati tank in their defensive statistics, the front office made a serious mistake in neglecting to bolster the defense much this offseason. While Turner and Taylor-Britt certainly showed signs that they can be starting cornerbacks at the NFL level, this team is a contender, and this gamble could end up being risky if Cincinnati can’t manage to stop teams defensively. The defensive backfield could easily be a reason that this team misses the playoffs for back-to-back seasons or makes it back to another Super Bowl depending on how well this gamble pays off.
