The Seattle Seahawks are officially on top of the football world, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after a season where their defense proved to be the backbone of a championship run. And while Seattle celebrates, the rest of the league-31 teams, including the Cincinnati Bengals-are already turning the page, looking toward free agency and the NFL Draft to figure out how to close the gap.
For the Bengals, the offseason brings more than just hope-it brings hard questions. Chief among them: how do they fix a defense that’s been a major reason for missing the playoffs three years in a row?
Seattle’s rise was powered in large part by a young, aggressive defense, and one of its breakout stars, rookie safety Nick Emmanwori, is already turning heads across the league. What stings a little more for Bengals fans? Emmanwori says Cincinnati was one of the teams that showed serious interest in drafting him.
“I knew [the Seahawks] were trying to come get me, but I thought it was gonna be at 18, or maybe try to trade back into the first round again,” Emmanwori said in the lead-up to the Super Bowl. “But I’m not sure…I definitely thought it was going to be the Seahawks, Bengals, Bills, Commanders, and the Eagles. Those were the teams I thought for sure was going to pick me up.”
Seattle ultimately landed him in the second round, and the move paid off in a big way. Emmanwori brought physicality, range, and poise to the Seahawks’ secondary-traits the Bengals desperately needed on the back end of their defense.
Instead, Cincinnati stuck with the safety duo from 2024: Jordan Battle and Geno Stone. Battle showed flashes of promise, but his season was marred by inconsistent tackling and lapses in coverage.
Stone, meanwhile, struggled to find his footing and now faces an uncertain future with the team. It's fair to wonder what the Bengals' defense might’ve looked like with Emmanwori patrolling the secondary.
Rather than grabbing the South Carolina standout, Cincinnati used their 17th overall pick on defensive end Shemar Stewart. On paper, Stewart had the tools to be a difference-maker. But his rookie year was anything but smooth-contract issues and injuries kept him from making the kind of impact the Bengals needed from a first-rounder, especially in a “win-now” window fueled by heavy investments on offense.
That’s not to say Stewart can’t still become a key piece of the puzzle. He’s got the raw talent. But when you see what Emmanwori brought to a Super Bowl-winning defense as a rookie, it’s hard not to think about what could’ve been.
Of course, the draft is always a gamble, and hindsight tends to make everything look clearer than it was in the moment. What matters now is how the Bengals respond. They’ve got another shot this spring to find a difference-maker-someone who can step in and elevate a defense that’s lacked bite for far too long.
One name fans are already circling: Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. He’s got the pedigree, the instincts, and the physical tools to be a plug-and-play starter at the next level.
Whether he’s the answer or not, Cincinnati can’t afford to miss again. Not with a roster that still has the offensive firepower to contend-if the defense can finally hold up its end of the bargain.