Cincinnati Bengals AFC North

Burrow was limited to eight appearances in 2025 due to a toe injury, but he's healthy at the start of team activities heading into the 2026 season and hoping to lead the Bengals back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2022 campaign. Cincinnati took steps toward accomplishing that goal by bolstering its defensive personnel in the offseason, most notably trading for star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Burrow still has plenty to work with on offense, with the team returning wideouts Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Andrei Iosivas, running back Chase Brown and tight end Mike Gesicki.

Bullock (5-foot-10, 205 pounds) spent three seasons at Ole Miss but mostly played on special teams. He subsequently transferred to South Alabama where he played another three seasons, rounding out his collegiate career with 218 carries for 1,085 yards (5.0 YPC) and 14 touchdowns and adding 14 receptions for 53 yards and a score. He ran a 4.53 40-yard dash at his pro day. Bullock will need to make an impact on special teams to crack the Bengals' 53-man roster.

Haynes didn't start until his third year at Georgia Tech when he broke out with 174 carries for 1,059 yards (6.1 YPC) and seven touchdowns. His efficiency dropped off over the next two seasons, bottoming out at 4.3 YPC in his fifth year. Still, Haynes has pass-catching chops with 33 receptions for 257 yards in his final season. He'll need to prove himself on special teams to earn a spot in a running back room that already features Chase Brown, Samaje Perine and Tahj Brooks.

Thomas led Texas A&M with 574 yards and eight touchdowns in his junior season. He subsequently transferred to Georgia for his senior season and got lost in the shuffle, finishing with 16 receptions for 254 yards (sixth on the team) and four touchdowns over 13 games. With a 4.62 40-yard dash at 6-foot-5, 203 pounds, Thomas is likely aiming for a practice-squad role.

Young certainly doesn't lack for size at 6-foot-5, 218 pounds, and he moves well for that size, running a 4.49 4-yard dash at the NFL Combine, though he takes a bit of time to get up to speed. Young's height and big frame give him plenty of range, and he's comfortable working down the field, but he doesn't have a special-teams background. That's likely something he'll need to learn with the Bengals, but Young will also get an opportunity to hone his craft behind two star wideouts in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. However, the room behind that duo and Andrei Iosivas is largely unproven, so Young could have a chance to carve out a spot pretty high on the depth chart with a good showing in training camp.

Parker (6-foot-5, 309 pounds) was a tackle at Duke who was expected to move to center, not completely unlike former Duke left tackle and current Tampa Bay center Graham Barton, but the NFL obviously regarded Parker as the lesser prospect of the two. Furthermore, the Bengals already drafted a center in the fourth round when they took the distinguished Connor Lew. Perhaps the Bengals will try Parker out at guard rather than center.

Davis is unusually tall for a corner at 6-foot-4, 194 pounds, which is helpful at some times but less so others. Though he was a standout starter for Washington overall, Davis' ability to mirror the routes of shorter, quicker receivers will be tested by the NFL's different enforcement of illegal contact rules. With 4.41 speed in addition to his reach, Davis would be a menacing press-man corner if he can avoid penalties in the NFL.

Howell spent the last two seasons of his five-year college career with Texas A&M. He broke out in his senior year in 2025, when he was a Unanimous All-American and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year after posting 31 tackles, including an SEC-leading 11.0 sacks, one forced fumble and six pass defenses across 13 games. Howell served as a boundary edge rusher with the Aggies, and while his shorter reach could be a concern at the NFL level, he has the quick initial burst to give opposing tackles plenty of trouble and the versatility to drop into coverage to mask blitz pressure. Howell will join a new-look Bengals defensive front that includes Super Bowl LX champion Boye Mafe, Myles Murphy, Jonathan Allen and the recently acquired Dexter Lawrence.

Saturday's trade with the Giants -- which saw the No. 10 pick of the 2026 NFL Draft move to New York -- was finalized Sunday after Lawrence passed his physical, and the extension ensures that the 2019 first-rounder will be under contract with the Bengals through the next three seasons. The Clemson product is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2025 regular season, when he tallied 31 tackles (14 solo), including 0.5 sacks, all of which were career lows. Lawrence was named to the NFL's All-Pro Second Team in both 2022 and 2023, and if he can return to that level, it would be a massive boost to a Bengals defensive front that also includes Jonathan Allen, Myles Murphy and Boye Mafe.

In 16 regular-season games (seven with the Patriots and nine with the Steelers) in 2025, the 2020 second-rounder recorded a career-low 59 total tackles, as well as a sack and two interceptions. As Charlie Goldsmith of the Dayton Daily News notes, Dugger brings both ample starting experience and positional versatility to a Bengals defense that can use both.

Flacco kicked off last season as the Browns' No. 1 quarterback, completing 93 of 160 passes (58.1 percent) for 815 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions in four starts. Cleveland then dealt him to Cincinnati, where he proceeded to fill in for the injured Joe Burrow. In six more starts with his new team, Flacco racked up 1,636 yards and a 13:4 TD:INT on 61.6 percent passing. Once Burrow recovered from his turf toe injury, Flacco saw only spot action down the stretch of the 2025 campaign, a role he figures to fill again this season as long as the former remains healthy.

Johnson will turn 40 in mid-May, but he's not yet ready to hang up his cleats. This will be his third stint with the Bengals, who are one of 14 teams he's spent time with during his NFL career. Johnson should have a path to working as the backup to QB Joe Burrow, as Sean Clifford is the only other QB currently signed to Cincinnati's roster following the departure of Jake Browning to Tampa Bay.