PHOENIX _ Bengals head coach Zac Taylor on Tuesday spoke about the club's newest defenders for the first time since they were inked earlier this month, and he focused on the Super Bowl pedigree of Chiefs safety Bryan Cook and Seahawks pass rusher Boye Mafe.

That's a throwback to the 2020-21 offseasons that built two AFC North championships with playoff veteran defenders such as DJ Reader, Mike Hilton and Chidobe Awuzie.

"I think they walk in and are great additions just in terms of their mindset, their playing ability, the role they're going to play in our defense," Taylor said here at the AFC coaches media breakfast.

"They come from organizations that have won. And so I think anytime you can add … a recency of winning championships, I think that's good for our locker room."

Mafe figures to play about 70% of the snaps, but Taylor said he'll make sure the Bengals won't let that hurt the development of the pass rusher they added in the first round last year. Injuries limited Shemar Stewart to 280 snaps and one sack.

"Even if it doesn't show up statistically, just the role he can play for us, I think, is huge. His development is a priority for us," Taylor said. "We're not trying to do anything to stunt the growth there. We're trying to do everything we can for him to continue to grow and play a major role for us. Signing Boye really doesn't do anything negatively for Shemar because we still have high expectations for him.

"If you look at all the great defensive lines that have gone far in the playoffs, they're loaded up front with depth. There are starters, but there are also guys that are going to play 40-50 snaps a game."

Joey Flag

Taylor admitted he had some questions about quarterback Joe Burrow’s foray into flag football last weekend and may have some if Burrow pursues the sport.

"That sounds like a future Zac problem. So we'll let future Zac handle that problem," Taylor said.

But in the end, Present Zac knows it's coming from a good, familiar spot with his main man.

"There's a lot of things you can't plan for before you see the game happening. You don't know how it's going to play out. Obviously, you should all know, if Joe's going to do something, he's going to go all out and do it, he's going to try to win, and that's why we should love him." Taylor said.

"We got through it, and fortunately, I was at the Nebraska-Vanderbilt game and pretended like it wasn't happening until it was over. So, thankful we got through it and we're good, and we'll just move forward and get ready for our season now."

Before the games, Burrow agreed with Taylor that he wouldn't play defense. And Taylor says he shouldn't have been surprised what happened next. He had done it himself, even if it was about 30 years ago.

"My dad used to do this in fifth grade, where you weren't allowed to play quarterback all four quarters. So he'd have another person play quarterback, throw me a lateral, and then I throw it down the field," Taylor said. "So then to see him going out for some routes and stuff, I should have known that that's how that's going to play out."

More Defensive Adds

Taylor says adding a veteran linebacker and veteran cornerback are on the table. He referenced the deal for three-technique Jonathan Allen that popped a few days after the deals for Cook and Mafe only when the Vikings cut him.

He knows the scrutiny is on linebacker, but, he says, free agency never ends.

"It doesn't mean that we don't prioritize it. It just means, at the moment, the fit has been somewhere else, and so we've identified that and added to it," Taylor said. "We are excited about our two young guys that played a lot of snaps for us last year, and the development they're going to continue to see."

Taylor put those rookie linebackers, Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter, in the same bucket with safety Jordan Battle and edge rusher Myles Murphy. Players who began to bloom in the last eight games, when the defense allowed fewer than 18 points per game.

"We're counting in a major way on those guys," Taylor said. "I thought Myles Murphy took a huge jump at the end of the year, all around as a football player, just from a football IQ, from a physicality standpoint, from an understanding what we're asking him do in the scheme, from being a playmaker for us.

"I think (Battle) paired with Bryan Cook, is going to pay dividends for us. And so all those guys tie together. They've all got experience together. They're all tied together. And I'm really excited about the jump they can make as a unit."

And, while the Bengals seek a veteran cornerback to back up Dax Hill and DJ Turner II on the outside, as well as nickel, Taylor doesn't sense a lot of youth at that position. After all, Hill (2022) and Turner (2023) have played a lot of snaps since they were drafted, and nickel Jalen Davis, who made his first NFL starts impressively at the end of last season, has been here long enough to be the last link to the Super Bowl secondary.

"It doesn't feel young anymore. Those guys have played a lot of football for us, and so I don't look at it as a young room anymore," Taylor said. "Jalen Davis, you know, he's always been a part of that room, and I thought he played really well for us at nickel last year when he got his opportunity.

"I know that there's veteran corners that have played a lot longer, that have played in the league, but I feel like with the experience those guys have gotten, they've had great moments, they've had tough moments, and they've learned from that, and I've got a lot of confidence in those guys."

Asked if Hill would revert back to the nickel pending moves, Taylor said it's too early to say.

Slants and Screens

It looks like the Bengals are going to have a joint practice again in the preseason after staying away from it last year. Taylor says he's leaning that way with nothing final.

"You get a chance to control the environment, get on the same page with the other coach, map out some situations you want to make sure you hit," Taylor said. "If (the preseason game) doesn't go exactly how you want it to, you can repeat the drill, whereas in a game, you're at the mercy of how the game is going to unfold." ...

But other than that, Taylor says he's pretty much sticking with the changes of last year's training camp that centered around the shift from afternoon to morning practices.

"I thought that it was beneficial for us. I thought starting the day on the field was good. I thought the players embraced it. I think the coaches liked it as well," Taylor said. "When you're able to go on the road and get a divisional win Week 1, (beat) what turned out to be a really good Jacksonville team in Week 2, I felt like our team had the right mentality as we started.

"We'll wait until the schedule comes out to finalize everything." …

Count Taylor as one of the many surprised but pleased backup quarterback Joe Flacco signed only two weeks into free agency.

"Had you asked me immediately after the season, I would have said this is probably an August thing for him," Taylor said. "But I am really happy that it worked out the way it did." …

A luxury for Taylor. With his starting offensive line back, he also knows who he's got penciled in as the first two guys off the bench on the last day of March. He wants sophomore Jalen Rivers to focus on guard, which keeps Cody Ford the swing tackle ...