The Bengals spent the offseason remaking their defense, and that overhaul may matter most in one very specific place: getting Baker Mayfield on the ground.
Cincinnati loaded up with free agents, traded for one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles, and used its first pick of the 2026 draft on Cashius Howell. That selection might look like part of a long-term plan, but Howell could end up being central to the immediate task in front of the Bengals.
Tampa Bay’s offense is a strong early test for the new-look defense. The line should create chances. The bigger issue is what happens after those chances show up.
That’s where Howell comes in.
Pressure is only half the battle
Advanced pressure numbers can tell you a defense is bothering a quarterback, but they do not always tell the full story. Last season, Cincinnati posted a pressure rate of 20.9%, which was better than the Washington Commanders at 19.6%, the Las Vegas Raiders at 19.4%, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 19.8%.
Still, those three teams all finished with more sacks than the Bengals’ 35. Washington had 42, while Las Vegas and Tampa Bay each had 37.
That gap is the part Cincinnati has to close this season. And Mayfield is the kind of quarterback who can punish a defense if it doesn’t.
Mayfield can make pressure disappear
Mayfield rushed for the most yards and the highest yards per carry of his career last season. His 56.4% rushing success rate shows how often those runs actually turned into first downs when he left the pocket.
He also showed a knack for slipping pressure early in the 2025 season. By the end of the year, though, he had become the fifth-worst quarterback in turning pressure into sacks, even though he faced the least pressure.
When he does break free, he is dangerous as a scrambler. And once he gets into the open field, he is not the kind of quarterback who casually steps out of bounds. He’ll lower his shoulder and finish runs with force.
That means the Bengals can’t just create heat. They have to finish the play.
Howell brings the finishing touch
Among the edge rushers available in the draft, Howell stood out for one very specific trait: he was the best at converting pressures into sacks. According to Pro Football Network, his 28% pressure-to-sack conversion rate led all edge rushers.
He was still there at No. 41 overall when Cincinnati took him in the second round, continuing the team’s strange-but-effective offseason habit of zigging when everyone else zagged. Howell also entered the league with the shortest arms in draft history.
On the field, though, production was the point. He closed his final college season with 11.5 sacks, good for seventh in college football last year.
The Bengals still have to tackle
Getting Mayfield down is not only about rushers getting home. It’s also about what happens after contact.
Cincinnati led the NFL in missed tackles by a wide margin last season. The additions of safety Bryan Cook and Geno Stone no longer being in Cincinnati should help, but the problem did not vanish overnight. The Bengals still have two players in the top ten and three in the top 15 in that category.
Jordan Battle, Demetrius Knight, and Barrett Carter ranked third, sixth, and 12th in missed tackles, respectively. Battle deserves credit for leading all secondary players with 125 tackles while ranking 46th in missed-tackle percentage.
The expectation is that the young linebackers will improve in that area, especially with the rebuilt defensive front in front of them and the additions of Howell and Mafe on the edge. That should allow them to focus more cleanly on playing middle linebacker.
Still, Cincinnati would rather not test that progress on a late third-and-eight with Mayfield trying to extend a drive in the fourth quarter.
The simplest answer is also the best one: make sure he never gets that scramble chance in the first place. And if the Bengals do that, Howell may be the rookie who makes it happen.
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