The Bengals know where one of their biggest problems lives, and training camp is finally giving them a chance to attack it. On Thursday, Cincinnati started working on tackling drills as the team tries to clean up a defense that has been one of the league’s worst at bringing ball carriers down over the last few seasons.
Zac Taylor made it clear the work will not come in live tackling periods during practice. Instead, the Bengals will get those reps through drills over the next few practices as they build toward the Thursday preseason game against Detroit.
That plan came a couple of days after defensive coordinator Al Golden said Tuesday that the Bengals would have multiple live tackling drills in each of the next three practices beginning Thursday morning.
The most obvious place for improvement is at linebacker, where the Bengals’ second-year players need a much cleaner year. Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter both showed up near the top of the league in missed tackles last season. Knight posted a 15.0% missed tackle rate in 2025, while Carter was right behind him at 14.8%.
If Cincinnati wants to get its defense into the top half of the league in 2026, those numbers have to come down. The hope is that the arrivals of Dexter Lawrence and Jonathan Allen will help free up the young linebackers to get into better positions and make more plays. From there, it falls on Knight and Carter to finish the job.
Safety is another spot where the Bengals need a cleaner finish. The switch from Geno Stone to Bryan Cook should give Cincinnati a better tackler right away. Stone finished with an 18,7% missed tackle rate and often looked unwilling to get physical against the run or in the open field after a catch.
Cook brings a very different profile. He was one of the better tackling safeties in the NFL last season, finishing with a 5,7% missed tackle rate. The best mark in the league at the position, among players who appeared in at least 50% of snaps, was 4,1%.
Jordan Battle is back at the other safety spot, and his tackling needs to tighten up too. He finished 2025 with a 13.7% missed tackle rate, and this is a contract year that could define where things go next. Battle has shown he can play with force against the run, but in 2025 he also left too many questions with his angles and his ability to finish after the catch.
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What has made Howell especially intriguing is how he has looked in a role that could expand sooner than planned. With Shemar Stewart sidelined, the Bengals need more from the edge group, and Howell has been pressing his case for a significant snap share on the defensive line. The early signs suggest he is doing more than just learning the defense - he is making it harder for the coaching staff to keep him off the field. [Read more 🡒]