New defensive tackle Jonathan Allen has been in 126 NFL games, two Pro Bowls, a conference championship game and 10 training camps, and he liked what he saw from his rampaging defensive line on the Kettering Health Practice Fields after Monday's first padded practice for the Bengals.

After playing with some elite defensive fronts in Washington, Allen says the group the Bengals have put together this offseason and anchored by himself and tackle Dexter Lawrence II, is "one of the best D-Lines I've had … We never had a guy like Dex, and the guys we brought on the edge have a lot of juice and something to prove. We have a lot of potential, but right now, that's all it is."

On Monday, the potential flashed during a good day for the defense as the offense worked out of a balanced brew of formations that put quarterback Joe Burrow under center and in the shotgun.

"We started off strong. We felt the first couple of practices, we didn't start as strong as we wanted, and that was a point of emphasis today," Allen said. "Until I watch the film, it's hard to exactly say how practice went with so much going on. From our point of view, if we can make the quarterback uncomfortable, everyone wins."

Well then, give everybody a W because Burrow and backup Joe Flacco had a hard time getting the ball out against a solid rush. Burrow immediately spiked the ball once with edge Boye Mafe in the backfield reading the fake, tackle T.J. Slaton Jr. racked up a sack of Flacco and Burrow was hurried into some underthrows without popping a big play as the Bengals tried to get some play-action going.

But then Allen reminded, "It was a good day. The thing we try to remember is hey, they're going to make some good plays, and so are we. It's back-and-forth."

The running backs hit back with some big runs, particularly Chase Brown working behind multiple tight-end packages in tandem with the first offensive line. Tight end Erick All Jr. (knee) pronounced himself ready after his first practice in pads in nearly two years when he went in motion and cleared a path for running back Samaje Perine on a four-yard touchdown run in red-zone action.

Right guard Dalton Risner said he wanted to see the film, too, because he's encouraged by an offensive line that Chase Brown believes is picking up where it left off in the last two months last season, when they were one of the best O-Lines in the league.

"We're doing some good things that are going unnoticed," Risner said. "People think (Burrow) is getting pressure all the time. All they see are some defenders (going forward). l think we've also picked up some stuff today. The continuity is starting to pay off and we've been able to focus on the next level things."

Allen, who has seen it all, is taking the first day of pads with all the rest.

"We understand what makes this team great," Allen said. "Our job is to support Joe as much as we can and make sure we give him as many as opportunities as we can. I'm a firm believer in hard work among offensive and defensive players makes everybody better."

Slants and Screens

Monday was a coming-out party for Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young, a 2026 fourth-round pick. A 6-4 physical clone of Tee Higgins, Young had been a bit quiet this camp until he used his 33-inch vertical leap to vault over cornerback Josh Newton's tight defense as they tumbled out of bounds on Flacco's deep out as Young held on.

"Me and Flacco just missed one last week, and I was making sure we weren't going to miss this one," said Young, who also caught two slants, one in the red zone for a touchdown. "It's definitely a boost that Flacco has that trust putting it out there." …

Rookie cornerback Tacario Davis, a long 6-4 himself, got revenge for the corners when he used his reach to knock a pass away from Young over the middle …

Cornerback Dax Hill was all over the place. He knocked down Burrow's back-shoulder pass to Higgins in the red zone, wrenched the ball out of tight end Mike Gesicki’s hands before he could put a catch away over the middle and challenged All's block on a run play that ended up on a rare quick stop of Chase Brown Monday …

Hill, one of the more physical cornerbacks in the league, again looks at home in pads: "Butterflies go away. You just want to get that first thud, and then after that, all right back to football." …

Safety Jordan Battle also had a nice day. With people in his face in the pocket, Burrow couldn't quite put the ball out in front of Higgins on a red-zone crosser in the end zone, and Battle knocked it away.  Then out in the field, Battle ended up on All Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and prevented Burrow from drilling in an out route to him …

Evan McPherson hit some 50-plus midway through practice, offering a reminder that in the history of the Bengals, his career 29 field goals from 50 are more than the 23 combined from Doug Pelfrey, Shaye Graham and Mike Nugent …

Cornerback DJ Turner II got kicked in the calf and was replaced for a few plays by DJ Ivey and is fine …

It seems to say there are only a few spots open behind Hill, Turner, Davis and Ivey …