Bengals have regularly focused on defense in NFL Draft: It just hasn’t paid off

From left: Director of College Scouting Mike Potts, Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin, head coach Zac Taylor and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo talk as rookies stretch during the team s mini rookie camp, Friday, May 12, 2023, inside the team s indoor practice bubble in Cincinnati.

According to Warren Sharp, the Cincinnati Bengals don’t have a defensive investment problem.

They have a results problem.

Since 2020, Cincinnati has spent top-10-level draft capital on defensive players, more than enough to build a unit capable of holding its own in a conference loaded with elite quarterbacks. And yet, year after year, the defense has struggled to deliver when it matters most.

So, if the Bengals have already paid the price, why has the return been so underwhelming?

On paper, the Bengals are doing what they need to do. They’ve consistently used valuable draft picks on edge rushers, defensive backs, and front-seven depth. They rank in the upper tier of the league in total draft capital spent on defense over the last five years. That’s not neglect, it’s commitment.

This isn’t a front office ignoring one side of the ball. It’s one actively trying to build it. The problem is that draft capital doesn’t make tackles, pressure quarterbacks, or close out games. Players do.

And while the Bengals have found contributors, they haven’t found enough difference-makers. Too often, the defense has looked a step slow off the edge, vulnerable in key coverage moments, especially where tight ends and running backs are concerned, and unable to generate the kind of pressure that changes games.

This is not a talent vacuum; it’s a talent ceiling. The Bengals haven’t whiffed across the board. And that’s what makes this more frustrating. They’ve drafted players who can play. Guys who belong in the league. Guys who contribute. But in today’s NFL, especially in the AFC, that’s not enough.

You don’t beat quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen with solid depth. You beat them with players that offenses have to account for on every snap. And that’s where Cincinnati has come up short.

There’s also a pattern that keeps showing up. Just as the defense starts to take shape, a key player leaves or another player regresses or gets hurt, and the unit takes a step back. Instead of stacking talent and building continuity, the Bengals have been stuck in a rebuilding cycle.

Let’s be honest about the big picture. When you have a franchise quarterback like Joe Burrow, the instinct is to invest heavily in offense to keep the window open as long as possible. And that approach has gotten Cincinnati deep into the playoffs before. But it also raises the bar for the defense.

If your offense is elite, your defense doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be good enough to finish games. And, too often, it hasn’t been.

The answer is not to spend more draft capital. They’ve already done that. It’s about hitting on a true defensive star, developing existing players into impact contributors, and, most importantly,  identifying the kind of talent that actually translates on Sundays.

That’s where scouting comes in. The Bengals don’t need to start investing in defense. They have already done that. They need to find a way to make that spending pay off. It’s not about how many you draft or how high you draft them. It’s about who you draft.

On Thursday, April 23, at pick No. 10, Cincinnati needs to draft a defensive player who can make an immediate impact. In other words, the Bengals have to get this one right. And they have to keep getting it right all the way down to pick number 226 on Saturday night.

Otherwise, we’ll be in for another lost season.