Tobin: Bengals used 'every resource available' to improve roster

“After free agency, our team was pretty complete,” Tobin said. “We didn't have a lot of holes. We have a lot of guys that have played a lot of football. We have young guys that are just starting to find their groove and play really well for us. So, it frees you up a little bit. You don't want to be drafting for starters. If your draftees become starters, that's great. But you don't want to be reliant on them to start immediately, and that's now where our team is.

Tobin said the Bengals didn’t go into the draft thinking they were going to exclude any certain position, but the decision not to draft a linebacker speaks to the confidence the organization has in Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter. That echoes comments from coach Zac Taylor and defensive coordinator Al Golden, as well.

The best thing they might have done for the linebackers, Tobin said, was improving the defensive line, but that doesn’t mean they won’t look to add.

“We’ll always look at adding the right guy again,” Tobin said. “Again, I am not down on my linebackers. They individually will improve and collectively will improve by what we've done and the experience that they've gained. If there are people that we think can add to the group, we'll add to the group. We're not done roster building. … I mean, you're never done roster building. But I feel very good about our roster as it sits right now.”

According to OverTheCap.com, the Bengals have just $7.5 million left in cap space, though, and a lot of future money is tied up in current contracts.

That could impact the ability to get extensions done for Dax Hill and DJ Turner, as well as the fifth-year option plan for defensive end Myles Murphy, which would guarantee the 2023 first-round pick $14,475,000 in 2027. The decision on that fifth-year option needs to made by Friday.

“The desire will always be to keep guys,” Tobin said. “It's how to fit it together. And that's something that we'll be going through, the drafts over now. We've got some time to look at the forecast on where we are. We know where we are. We've layered in a lot of cost and there are restrictions on what you can do there, and when you're sitting at the top of the league in spending, it's pretty restrictive, but we'll see what can be done. If anything can be done. We're focused on this year, and the guys are all under contract this year, and that's the focus. And then we'll try to see what comes after that.”