The Cincinnati Bengals went to work on fixing one of the NFL’s worst defenses from last season. They made a number of moves, but according to one analyst, it was nowhere near enough.
Warren Sharp from Sharp Football Analysis has ranked Cincinnati’s front seven 26th in the NFL:
The Bengals overhauled their struggling front seven, but it’s hard to imagine the pass-rush unit drastically improving after the loss of Trey Hendrickson. Last season, Cincy generated pressure in 2.5 seconds or less on just 15%
of opponent dropbacks, ranked 31st.
The addition everyone knows is their trade for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants. But that wasn’t the only move the team made to improve that area.
The Bengals also signed pass rusher Boye Mafe, who was one of the top available players at his position as well. He generated 40 pressures last season in a rotational role.
They also landed Jonathan Allen to help the interior defense as well. He can add some help getting to the quarterback.
The linebackers definitely needed a reliable veteran added to the group. Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter had really rough rookie years. They were also surrounded by one of the worst defensive units in the NFL. Still, that would definitely keep them from being too high on this list.
Speaking of the list, though. There are quite a few issues that need to be pointed out that are directly tied to the Bengals. Truly, if all the Bengals did was lose Hendrickson and add Lawrence, there wouldn’t have been too much movement up, but there should have been at least a minor boost.
When you look at Sharp’s 2025 rankings for front sevens, you will find something strange. Cincinnati was ranked 26th last year as well. But Sharp also mentioned two names in his analysis, Lawrence and Henderickson.
So, how did those players impact the rank of their former and new teams?
Well, the Giants fell 14 spots from No. 4 to No. 18. Somehow, the loss of Lawrence is worth absolutely tanking a unit, but adding him means nothing.
Although the Bengals lost Hendrickson, obviously, he must have also had a huge impact, right? Well, maybe too much of an impact.
Sharp ranks the Baltimore Ravens as the 10th best in the NFL. He even notes the defensive line was at or near the bottom of the NFL last year. Somehow, adding Hendrickson, Calais Campbell, and Zion Young makes it a top 10 unit.
Hendrickson also isn’t going to be very helpful in improving that running defense. He is still a fantastic pass rusher, but anyone watching Bengals games knew the offensive plan included running right at him. And unfortunately, with his age, he likely won’t be getting better in that area. So, somehow saying the Lawrence move is equal to the Hendrickson one just seems silly and disingenuous.
There is plenty of uncertainty surrounding this Bengals defensive unit, but it is really hard to make this math work out for everyone except Cincinnati.
