Bengals camp has taken on a different feel through seven days, and the biggest reason is the defense. That’s the surprise of the moment. In a setting where the offense usually grabs the spotlight, the stop unit has been the side making things uncomfortable, and on some days it has straight-up taken over.
A big part of that shift has come from the presence of defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence and safety Bryan Cook. Their impact has changed the tone of the whole operation, and it has shown up in the way the offense has had to react snap after snap.
Boye Mafe has been in the mix too, constantly getting pressure on Joe Burrow and making it clear how quickly he can wreck a play. The offense hasn’t had many long stretches where it has really popped, but for now, plenty of fans are probably fine with the change of pace.
On the defensive side, Barrett Carter has been one of the names drawing attention. Tuesday was his day, with Carter playing downhill and helping shut down an inside run game that had created problems the day before.
He also had some physical collisions with tight end Erick All Jr. while lining up as fullback. Knight was solid as well, but Carter has been the one relaying the calls to Golden through his helmet before each play and getting everyone set.
That kind of feedback has followed Carter throughout camp, and the defense has had plenty of good things to say about what he has shown so far. It’s the sort of performance Bengals fans are hoping carries into the season.
There’s also been buzz around Dexter Lawrence, and not just from the defensive side. Bengals offensive players and coaches have said he has been dominating practices, and guard Risner explained why Lawrence forces everyone else to adjust.
“There’s certain guys in this league like Dexter who wreck a whole game play and you have to do everything around them and you change everything you’re doing,” Risner said. “You’re going to have to change how you block against certain guys. He’s just making us do it really early and really often.”
That kind of disruption is exactly what teams fear, and it’s why Lawrence’s early camp work has turned heads. There were concerns when the trade happened that the player coming in might be on the decline, but the way the offense is talking now makes it sound like that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Elsewhere, Will Wagner is trying to make his second year as uneventful as possible, which is usually exactly what you want from a long snapper. Wagner, who has a mechanical engineering degree, talked about how that background fits with the job.
“I use my mechanical engineering degree pretty much every day in long snapping,” Wagner said in an interview while at Michigan. “In engineering, I have to know how matter is going to react if I put force in one place compared to another, and it’s the same in long snapping -- how is the ball going to fly if I snap it one way versus another?”
For Bengals fans, that kind of steadiness matters more than most people realize. You don’t appreciate a quality long snapper until you’ve gone without one.
And while camp notes are piling up, one final line of admiration belongs to Anthony Muñoz. He was a foundational piece for the franchise over his career, and for a long time he stood alone as the only Bengals player in the Hall of Fame. Even now that he has company, Muñoz remains the name that should come first when talking about the best Bengals of all time.
In Other News...
Bengals Rookies Are Forcing A Camp Battle Cincinnati Really Needed
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For a team looking for affordable help and immediate depth, that kind of early competition matters. Cincinnati seems to have found a handful of rookies with a path to meaningful snaps this season, and the broad sense around camp is that this class is more than just developmental talent. The next step is seeing which of them can keep turning early promise into a real role once the pads stay on and the competition tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Burrow Just Gave Bengals Fans More Reason To Dream
Joe Burrow is heading into his seventh NFL season with the kind of long-view confidence Bengals fans love to hear. In a conversation with CBS Sports, the quarterback said he could potentially play another 15 years, and he tied that optimism to how he feels right now in training camp, saying he feels physically strong and healthy while staying focused on keeping his body ready for the workload ahead.
Burrow also pointed to the atmosphere around camp, including the Bengals new defense, as part of what makes this stretch feel meaningful. For a team built around his prime years, the bigger picture matters just as much as the daily work, and Burrows belief that he can sustain this level for a long time only adds to the sense that Cincinnatis window may be wider than ever. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Madrid Matchup Just Got Easier After A Brutal Falcons Loss
The Bengals Week 9 trip to Madrid suddenly looks a little friendlier after Atlanta took a major hit on defense. Jalon Walker, who emerged as a key part of the Falcons pass rush last season, is out for the 2026 campaign after tearing his ACL in training camp, a loss that changes the complexion of a matchup Cincinnati already had circled as part of its international schedule.
For a Bengals offense that figures to care plenty about protection in a neutral-site game overseas, not having to deal with Walker on the edge is no small development. Atlanta still has time to sort out how it will replace one of its most disruptive defenders, but Cincinnati at least knows the road to Madrid just got a bit less daunting. [Read more 🡒]