Over the next few weeks leading up to training camp, we will be taking a look at the Bengals roster position by position. Let's flip over to the defensive side of the ball and start with the defensive tackle room.

Returners: Howard Cross III, B.J. Hill, McKinnley Jackson, Jordan Jefferson, Kris Jenkins Jr. T.J. Slaton Jr.

New additions: Jonathan Allen, Dexter Lawrence II, Landon Robinson

Position coaches: Jerry Montgomery, Mike Moon

2025 Review

Cincinnati brought in T.J. Slaton Jr. during the 2025 offseason after he spent four seasons with the Green Bay Packers. Slaton Jr. played and started all 17 games in his first season with the Bengals and tallied a career-high three sacks and 52 total tackles.

Veteran tackle B.J. Hill also started all 17 games in his fifth season with Cincinnati after spending three seasons with the New York Giants. Hill had 66 tackles and posted a 68.0 PFF run-defense grade, the 17th-highest grade among all defensive tackles to play at least 100 snaps in 2025, per PFF. Hill faced 316 run defense snaps, according to PFF, and had 41 tackles against the run with just one missed tackle.

The second-year trio of Kris Jenkins Jr., McKinnley Jackson and Jordan Jefferson played depth roles behind the starters. Jenkins played 498 total snaps across 14 games, per PFF. Jackson, meanwhile, recorded the eighth-highest defensive grade among second-year defensive tackles in nine games played.

2026 Outlook

The Bengals made one of the biggest moves of the offseason, literally, when they traded the 10th overall pick to the New York Giants for DT Dexter Lawrence II. Lawrence made three Pro Bowls and two All Pro teams over his seven years with the Giants as one of the most dominant defensive tackles in the league. The 2019 first-round pick out of Clemson has 30.5 career sacks, including 9.5 in 2024, despite facing one of the highest double-team rates in the league. Per NFL.com, Lawrence has faced 1,103 double teams on his pass rushes over the past five seasons, the only player in quadruple digits. Among the 175 interior defensive linemen to play at least 1,000 snaps since Lawrence was drafted in 2019, he ranks 10th in total pressures with 335 and 12th in total tackles with 243, per PFF.

Cincinnati also added Jonathan Allen to the defensive tackle room. Allen has the eighth-most sacks of any defensive tackle in the 2020s (30, 45.5 total in his career) and two Pro Bowl appearances. He has the sixth-most tackles of any defensive tackle since he entered the league in 2017 with 319, per PFF, while his 382 pressures rank ninth.

Navy DT Landon Robinson joined the roster via the 2026 NFL Draft. The seventh-round pick was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2025 and was a first-team Associated Press All-American after leading the Midshipmen with 8.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.

Adding both Allen and Lawrence II to the veteran room will give defensive coordinator Al Golden the ability to rotate more often and keep fresh bodies on the field. The experience of both Lawrence and Allen coupled with the veterans already on the roster raise both the floor and the ceiling of the defensive interior in 2026.