On Friday, Cincinnati Bengals Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin met with the media earlier than usual. Typically, we don’t hear from Tobin until the NFL Scouting Combine in February, but after a huge letdown in 2025, the organization decided to make Tobin available.
When asked about the Bengals’ biggest need this offseason, “pass rush” was the first thing on Tobin’s mind.
After giving Trey Hendrickson a raise this past offseason, he missed over half of the season with hip and core muscle injuries, which was a major blow to the Bengals’ pass rush rotation. As the season went on, 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy did start to come along, but there was still much left to be desired from Cincinnati’s pass rush unit.
2025 first-rounder Shemar Stewart was essentially a non-factor. He missed several games with injury as well, but only registered one sack on the season. Hopefully, Stewart is healthy in 2026 and able to contribute more, but Tobin is clearly eyeing more help with getting opposing quarterbacks to the ground.
Tobin was noncommittal about exactly how they plan to attack the offseason, but it would seem that pass rushers will be on his mind in both free agency and the NFL Draft, where the Bengals will select 10th overall in the first round.
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