4 Reasonable D-Line Targets For Bengals Free Agency
Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
The Cincinnati Bengals need to rebuild their disastrous defense, and this offseason will provide the front office a chance to, quite literally, put their money where their mouth is. The free agent market has plenty of opportunities for the Bengals to give it another shot after taking a swing and a miss on Sheldon Rankins last year. With Rankins a prime roster cut candidate, the Bengals should have plenty of newfound cap space to sign another defensive lineman.
Of course, there is a strong possibility that the Bengals will address their need for a defensive lineman in the upcoming draft. Even so, there’s still room to upgrade in free agency, especially with Rankins, Sam Hubbard, and maybe even B.J. Hill on their way out the door.
Who could the Bengals look to in the free agent market?
Milton Williams
Unless you’re boycotting the game, Milton Williams is a player that Bengals fans could get a serious look at in the upcoming Super Bowl.
Milton Williams has been so so good this season… On track for a nice payday.
Whooping up on Pro Bowl OGs – and blasting through double teams with a smile on his face. Such a valuable piece pic.twitter.com/t4ECpItvp6
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) January 13, 2025
The Bengals watched Rankins have a solid game against them in 2023, and that may well have been a catalyst in them giving him a major payday. In the same vein, Williams performed well against the Bengals in Cincy’s Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, recording one sack, three pressures, and two hurries. While he’s not the run-stuffing dynamo that fans would hope out of a defensive tackle, he has the second-highest Pass Rush Grade per PFF (90.4) among interior defenders and was ranked in the top 20 among defensive tackles in sacks (17th), pressures (19th), and hurries (20th).
For a team that demonstrably struggled to rush the passer in 2024 outside of Trey Hendrickson, snagging Williams would give their pass rush a major boost, especially if he can stay healthy.
Teair Tart
The Bengals have previously targeted Teair Tart, who has spent the past two seasons with a combined four organizations. This past season, he was with the LA Chargers, where he enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career.
Teair Tart has been an unsung hero for the Chargers all season long and he absolutely helped flip the game for the defense in the 2nd half vs the Broncos. Another fantastic showing on tape! pic.twitter.com/BkakeWhku4
— Steven Haglund (@StevenIHaglund) December 21, 2024
The “unsung hero” defensive tackle is a defensive coordinator’s best friend. While those players don’t light up the stat sheet, they make up for it by taking away blockers and allowing other defenders to make plays.
He, along with 2025 free agency addition Poona Ford, were stalwarts that helped form a run defense that graded seventh in the NFL (73.2 PFF grade). Tart, himself, had the twelfth-highest Overall Grade of any defensive tackle in the league (78.1). He is a younger, less expensive version of Hill, equally skilled as a run defender and pass rusher.
After whiffing on Rankins, there is a possibility that the Bengals look to finally seal the deal with Tart if the Chargers let him walk in free agency.
Chase Young
Just because a player hasn’t lived up to his status as a second overall pick doesn’t mean they still can’t become a valuable contributor to his team. Even though Young didn’t become the surefire All-Pro he looked like coming out of Ohio State, he has still been solid as a pass rusher.
Chase young was having a quietly underrated season with the Saints and could be a player Seattle looks at:
7 Sacks
66 Pressures (7th in the NFL)
47 QB Hurries (5th in the NFL)
1 FF
12 QB Hits pic.twitter.com/e05YPhtP2t— seahawksreview (@seahawksreview) January 23, 2025
While he could very easily be labeled a disappointment, he’s hardly a bust, and he still has solid years ahead of him. His ability to pressure the quarterback, which he showed in his last two seasons hopping from the Washington Commanders, San Francisco 49ers, and New Orleans Saints, would be welcome in the Bengals’ defensive system. In Al Golden’s system, which is looking to place an emphasis on developing players, the 25-year-old Young would have an opportunity to re-establish himself as the player who took home the 2020 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
Not to mention, the last time the Bengals scooped up an edge rusher from New Orleans, it seemed to work out pretty well.
Chauncey Golston
Micah Parsons is about to receive a mega-deal from the Dallas Cowboys, which will likely leave Chauncey Golston, a solid edge rusher in his own right, as the odd man out. That’s not to say it hasn’t been a great season for the fourth-year player out of Iowa.
Chauncey Golston has played well this season. He picked up his fourth sack of the season. He's moving into free agency with good vibes.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) December 23, 2024
The strong pass rusher had a career-high of seven sacks in his contract year, including four in the final four games of the season. He totaled 37 pressures and 28 hurries, both of which were also career-highs. He has been a solid contributor for a Dallas defense that has desperately needed them, and he has experience playing nearly every position on the defensive line. He’s versatile enough that incoming Golden can use him any way he likes as he tries to rebuild the defense from the ground up.
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