Al Golden Sends a Clear Message to the Bengals Ahead of Free Agency with His Honest Assessment of Cincinnati's Defense

INDIANAPOLIS — Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden arrived at the NFL Scouting Combine with a blunt diagnosis of the unit he oversaw in 2025: the pass rush was the weakest he has ever coached, and the front office must treat the problem as a top priority when the market opens next month.

“Oh we have to build,” Golden told reporters. “This was the least amount of pressure that I’ve had in forever — and by a long margin, the least amount of line stunts.”

The numbers back up the urgency. Even with Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson on the field for only seven games, his 21.5 percent pass-rush win rate dwarfed the rest of Cincinnati’s defensive line. Second-year edge Myles Murphy checked in at 12.1 percent, and rotational rusher Joseph Ossai posted 10.7 percent. No other Bengal who took significant snaps on the edge cracked double digits.

Director of player personnel Duke Tobin has already signaled that reinforcing the defensive line will headline the club’s offseason agenda. Golden, retained along with the rest of Zac Taylor’s staff to maintain continuity between the coaching and personnel departments, echoed that sentiment inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

“Finding capable rushers is a must this offseason,” Golden said. “I have my eyes on developing the building blocks we already have, but we need more to execute the vision.”

Versatility remains the cornerstone of that vision. Golden’s first season back in Cincinnati featured a scheme designed to deploy hybrid fronts and position-less defenders, and he has no intention of abandoning that philosophy.

“I’m a defensive coordinator, so I like toys,” he said. “You need force multipliers. You need somebody in the defensive-end room that can play outside linebacker. You need linebackers that can play on and off the line of scrimmage. If you can do it without substitution, that’s what makes you dangerous.”

The Bengals finished 6-11 and out of the playoffs last season, with many of the losses featuring an inability to affect opposing quarterbacks. Golden’s public candor underscores a franchise-wide acceptance that the current roster, as constructed, is not ready to return to January football.

Free agency opens in four weeks, and Cincinnati owns ample cap space to chase upgrades. Whether Hendrickson re-signs or walks, Golden’s marching order is clear: add players who can collapse pockets and create negative plays.

“We’ll see where we go here in terms of identifying those things,” Golden said, “but you have complete faith in Zac and Duke and what we’re going to acquire here in the next month — and then, obviously, three months.”

The defensive coordinator has laid down the gauntlet. The onus now shifts to the front office to deliver the toys he believes can transform one of the league’s least disruptive fronts into a legitimate postseason weapon.