The Bengals' secondary production has fallen off a cliff in recent years, prompting Pro Football Focus writer John Kosko to rank that unit 25th among all NFL teams entering the 2025 season.
Cincinnati is relying on some youth improvement and a bounce-back season from Geno Stone.
"The vaunted secondary that fueled an AFC championship run now feels like a distant memory, as the Bengals’ secondary looks completely different in 2025," Kosko wrote. "Despite last season’s struggles, Cincinnati neither drafted a defensive back nor made a significant offseason addition to the unit. It’s a risky approach, but there are still some solid pieces. Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt and safety Geno Stone performed well in 2023 but regressed in 2024. The hope is that a change in defensive coordinator can spark a turnaround for this group in 2025."
The unit figures to have Taylor-Britt and DJ Turner II starting on the outside, going with Dax Hill at the nickel spot, and then Stone and Jordan Battle at safety. A big leap forward could happen in an Al Golden system that is reportedly simpler to handle this coming season.
Outside of that group, depth gets shallow very quickly across the DB ranks.
Some better injury variance wouldn't hurt those improvement prospects either.
