INDIANAPOLIS _ The word over here at the NFL scouting combine is that it's a draft deep in defense, a good turn for Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden in his bid to start his second season quicker than the first.

Golden didn't get the job until the day after Notre Dame lost last year's national title game. He announced his staff the week of the Senior Bowl. Their first exposure to the rookie class was here a year ago.

Now, the first byproduct of a normal offseason is showing up in the staff meetings with the prospects.

"I feel like we've seen a lot of these guys and more importantly for us, I think I've seen them from this lens because we've really done a lot of work coming into this draft," Golden said Wednesday on a break from visits with the players at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"Last year, it was kind of interview, and then go back and evaluate them. This year, we evaluated them and we saw them at the Senior Bowl practice or the East-West practice, and then pinpoint what question do I have to ask this guy. What do I need to know specifically from this young man to see if he's a match?"

After overhearing the top defensive line prospects' media podiums Wednesday morning, Golden's staff had apparently already had or about to have some meet and greets.

Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods spoke fondly of old teammate and emerging Bengals edge rusher Myles Murphy. Miami edge rusher Ruben Bain Jr. listed Bengals All-Pro sacker Trey Hendrickson as one of his NFL favorites. Auburn edge Keldric Faulk talked about the Bengals and other top ten visits.

"The football intelligence piece is really important," which is Golden's version of the FBI. "Sometimes, as coaches, we like to hear ourselves talk. And the reality of it is, I love being in the back of that meeting and listening to them. I want to know who can riff, and I use the word riff because that's what it reminds me of. Not a canned answer that they've been working for a month, and who can just go up there and riff whatever direction the conversation goes.

"That's what I love about Jordan Battle," said Golden of his returning safety, clearly the most popular Bengals incumbent of this combine after director of player personnel Duke Tobin and head coach Zac Taylor gave their blessings on Tuesday.

Personnel Hints

Golden was effusive and accessible, but he wasn't exactly handing out the names and positions of what he's seeking to add to the roster. Yet, he's pretty clear what he'd like to see opposite Battle in the other Opening Day starting safety, and that he'd like to add experience to the linebacker room. Those are guys who appear about to be acquired.

"Jordan really came on as a box safety. As a guy that can play near the box, and then there were a lot of times we had him in the post or playing quarters," Golden said. "His communication was great.

"Maybe someone who can go into the slot and cover a little bit more, or feel better about certain matchups or whatever, or somebody that just really complements Jordan's skills, and maybe not somebody that's exactly like him. And if we can do that, obviously, I think we'll improve our defense."

Golden also said he wouldn't mind bringing a veteran into the linebacker room to help the development of the rookie tandem of Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter that got singed at times while they became starters in the fat of the fire.

The Bengals appear to be looking for a backer who can set the edge against the run.

"We've got to get better. We've got to get deeper," Golden said of the backer room. "Obviously, having somebody with a combo presence. I would prefer not to ask Demetrius to play on the line of scrimmage as much as we did. There will be times when he does do that. But I would prefer to add another piece and have that veteran wisdom and all those things."

Backup QB

The Bengals are in the market for a backup quarterback with Joe Flacco checking out his starting options and Jake Browning headed to restricted free agency. It's not a minor move as sketched out Wednesday by offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher.

"The backup quarterback is a unique job, and an understanding of what that is, is important. Because you have to have a guy that's very intrinsically motivated, somebody that can just go to work and do the work day in and day out because they know it's the right thing to do, and because they can get themselves to a place mentally where, 'I might have to play at any given moment, but I also may not play all year.' And that's different than any other position in the building."

If the answer comes out of the draft, how high do they go? One thing is for sure. Led by the 41-year-old Flacco, older quarterbacks are usurping the young guns of the 2020s and getting the best backup jobs, or becoming bridges to franchise quarterbacks.

"It's the hardest position in professional sports, and if you can maintain your health into your mid-30s, late 30s, you will have acquired a wealth of experience and knowledge that are going to just make you far better prepared to play the position than a 22- or 23-year old who's entering the league from college football," Pitcher said.

Trading for Flacco allowed the Bengals to give Burrow something he never had in his sixth NFL season. The ability to watch and learn from a proven winning quarterback. Pitcher said it also helped the coaches prepare for a world they may not have Burrow for a game or two.

"Maybe there are a couple of areas where if you expand a little bit, maybe your offense becomes slightly less dependent on an elite processing pocket quarterback," Pitcher said. "And maybe slightly more dependent on some things that don't require that elite skillset. We'll see where it goes."

Self Scouts

Maybe having success with Flacco means they put Burrow under center a little bit more.

Pitcher's two major takeaways from this month of postseason self-scouting are being more explosive on early downs and better ball security. He says getting under center can open up big plays.

"I think that's part of it. I think when you study the league, the teams that are toward the top of those charts spend a little bit more time under center. That's something that we have to think about," Pitcher said. "The one principle I will always adhere to as long as I have influence over the offense is that we are going to do what we believe our players do well.

"It doesn't mean we don't want to push our players. It doesn't mean we don't want to expand to areas we think can help us schematically. We are not going to wholesale become something we haven't been in the past but do we have to maybe push the envelope in some areas that previously might have made us a little uncomfortable. I think those are responsible things you do."

The Bengals' big plays are down from the high-flying days of 2021, and Pitcher says there are reasons. And, let's face it. When foes game plan for the Bengals, the first thing they say on Wednesday mornings is, 'Whatever we do, don't let Burrow beat us deep."

"There are some league trends that have just reduced explosive plays overall in terms of more 2-high defense and the resources the teams devote to preventing the big passing plays," Pitcher said. "I think those things happen to us probably as much, or more, than anybody in the league, although it's league-wide now. We've chosen to approach different phases of our offense in a way that maybe emphasizes efficiency over high risk, high reward. That's something that we constantly have to evaluate.

"Are we at the right part of that spectrum? Do we need to push the envelope a little bit more? Do we need to take on a little bit more risk, whether that be in the run game or whether that be in the normal down play- action game? Those are all things that we think about and that we balance because everything you choose to do, there's an equal and opposite reaction."

Making The Call

After the season, Zac Taylor gave Pitcher the opportunity to interview for an offensive coordinator job where he would call the plays in Tampa Bay, a job that hypothetically should yield more interviews for head coaching jobs. He went to Cleveland for his first top job interview last month.

"Obviously, I have career ambition. I've never been shy about that," Pitcher said. "So grateful to get a chance to talk to some organizations. But happy where I'm at. Happy to be the offensive coordinator of the Bengals. I've got a really important job here and excited to attack that."

While he didn't get the OC gig in Tampa Bay, that doesn't mean he's bound and gagged in Cincinnati. Taylor is the play-caller, but only after much give and take with Pitcher and the rest of the offensive staff. So much give and take on game day that Taylor thinks it would make for a good all-access show.

"Clearly, there is communication between every single play and every single series. What is the difference in you saying it and me saying it?" Taylor said this week. "We are all on the same page and the same outcome. But there obviously is something to going somewhere and being the primary play-caller. I understand all that entails. He and I coexist really well together. He calls a lot of the plays we run. They are just coming out of my mouth and I speak it to (Burrow)."

And, Taylor calling plays aided by a kitchen cabinet has worked and made his offenses one of the NFL's most consistent of the 2020s.

"It's just what fits your team, what fits the coaches you have, what fits the players you have," Taylor said. "Everywhere it's a little bit different. For us, I feel like this is what fits us best."

Besides, Pitcher knows what gets jobs.

"I'm far less concerned with anything in that realm and far more concerned with getting us to where we need to be as a football team," Pitcher said. "Above all else, that will take us all to where we want to go."

Slants and Screens

Golden's M.O. coming from South Bend was bringing heat. But with his best pass rusher (Hendrickson) hurt for most of the year and his most experienced player (linebacker Logan Wilson) traded to Dallas, that lack of experience made games and blitzes tough.

The Bengals never moved out of the last spot in the league and finished with the lowest blitz percentage at 16.6. Sounds like it won't happen again.

"This was the least amount of pressure that I've had in forever. By a long margin, the least amount of line stunts," Golden said. "We made a lot of progress with that, and a lot of it was Barrett and D-Knight settling in and being able to call some of those on the field. Because it's hard to call line stunts just as a pre- snap call.

"There are a lot of reasons that went into that. Everything runs through the middle, and when those guys (Knight and Carter) started to get more comfortable, then we got more comfortable in them. For me, that will be the floor now, not the ceiling." …

No one in the universe has the Bengals drafting an offensive player at No. 10. But don't tell Pitcher. He's preparing like they are.

"You've got to think and prepare like every pick that Duke is going to turn to you. 'What do you think?' And you've got to make sure you've got the work so that you can answer that question in that moment with confidence," Pitcher said. "It's the same as you put a gameplan together. You put a call sheet together, you might call 20% of the plays on that sheet. You're going to study all these college players, all these free agents, and you might acquire one percent of those guys. But if you don't do the work, you're not going to be confident that you got the right one percent." …

Veteran defensive tackle and captain B.J. Hill turns 31 in April, and he's coming off an extremely tough year. He's a staple of the pundits' lists of salary cap casualties, but maybe not so fast. After injuring his foot early in spring drills, Hill did the team guy thing and opted to gut it out instead of getting it fixed. Golden says it's fixed now, and he thinks it's going to make a difference.

"Obviously, we love B.J. and B.J. went through a lot last year. Missing the offseason, missing most of the training camp, really fought through some things," Golden said. "I know he had something fixed after the season. So I'm excited to get him back healthy." …