Zac Taylor Pushes Back on 'Lazy Narrative' Surrounding One Bengals Position Group

Zac Taylor believes the perception surrounding the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive line no longer matches the group's performance.

The Bengals are returning all five starters from a group that improved throughout the 2025 season. That continuity should eliminate many of the communication problems that have, in the past, led to early-season pressure and sacks.

“There’s a lot of experience there,” Taylor said. “From a communication standpoint, that’s something that sometimes early in seasons gets you some sacks with overall communication because you have a revolving door at a position or you have new guys at a position. Now, that excuse does not exist for us.”

Bengals Remain Confident in Experienced O-Line

Cincinnati Bengals' offensive line — Dec 14, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals center Ted Karras (64) and guard Dylan Fairchild (63) and offensive tackle Orlando Brown (75) line up for a play during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Orlando Brown Jr., Dylan Fairchild, Ted Karras, Dalton Risner, and Amariius Mins are expected to open the season together, having established momentum down the stretch last year.

“I’m excited to see those guys play together,” Taylor said. “They finished the year really strong.”

Taylor also pushed back on the way Cincinnati's offensive line continues to be discussed nationally.

“Sometimes nationally, there’s a really lazy narrative that our offensive line isn’t very good because they look at years ago and some issues we had,” Taylor said. “That has not been the case for us. These guys have performed as well as any unit in the league.”

The 43-year-old head coach, facing a pivotal season in his role, isn't alone in believing the team's OL deserves more respect. Brown also told our own Russ Heltman that the group would like to eliminate that narrative altogether.

"I think taking that next step to kind of kill this narrative in the media, and I don't want that to be misconstrued with our approach," Brown said. "But we are top dogs, and we got a really special unit, and to be honest, like there isn't a lot of guys across the NFL that could play in this Bengal system and be as good as they are on a different team, just based on what's asked of us..."

Brown also emphasized how frequently Cincinnati's linemen are required to survive difficult, one-on-one situations during pass protection.

"Anybody that plays this sport will tell you, pass protection is the hardest thing to do, and the fact that you've got five guys that are leading their position in one-on-one pass blocks across the board throughout the course of a season. That's rare. And so for us, it's about us setting the tone."

The Bengals' offensive line has spent years taking criticism for holding the rest of the offense and the team back. Taylor and Brown sound like they're on the same page and ready for the group to start delivering.

Watch Taylor's full comments below:

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