Al Golden Updates Bengals' Defensive Growth During Early Days of 2026 Training Camp

Al Golden spoke with the media following Tuesday's Bengals training camp session. His defensive unit is turning heads early in camp as all the new additions from this past offseason gel together into one group.

Golden is pleased with how the implementation is going for Year 2 of his system in Cincinnati.

"We're not miscommunicating," Golden noted about the early results. "We're playing our fundamentals. Everybody's doing their job, and and we're improving, and we have consistency."

Linebacker play has a big spotlight on it right now. Barrett Carter and Demtrius Knight Jr. have kept the Bengals from bringing in outside talents so far.

“You guys know how I feel about them — love them. I stood on the table for them," Golden said.

It's seemingly boiling back to Dexter Lawrence's impact on the interior.

That Bengals defensive line was horrendous last year, posting the worst stop rate as a team defensive line unit since tracking began in 2021. If Lawrence stays healthy all season, they should jockey to be at least league average, if not better.

"Dex is everything you would imagine that he is," Golden declared. "He came back in great shape, and I think that's a testament to him and his work ethic and his energy, renewed energy and his focus. So he's powerful. We're going to continue to work to get him to beat blocks. His middle push is significant, so he's doing a great job of buying in and being a leader for us.

"Again, upstairs did a tremendous job, giving us depth and versatility. And I think I said back to the first day or before the first day, we're trying to find out what we do best too, and our guys are putting on film every day what we do best, and we're making little adaptations daily to make sure that we are using them the way they should be."

Cincinnati has the day off on Wednesday before the pads get clacking again on Thursday morning.

For more on the Bengals, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and be sure to check us out on your favorite audio platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Amazon. Make sure you bookmark BengalsTalk.com for the latest Bengals news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more! We're a one-stop shop for all things Cincinnati Bengals! Join the 65,000+ Bengals fans who subscribe to us on YouTube.

Add us as a preferred source on Google