The clock is ticking for Cincinnati.

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The Cincinnati Bengals have been busy so far this offseason, as the team has retained several key free agents including Mike Gesicki, B.J. Hill and Joseph Ossai, and they also locked up star wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins with massive, long-term extensions.

But, while the Bengals have done a lot of work on the roster, they still have plenty of work to do prior to the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, especially when it comes to solidifying, or improving, the defense. As a result, they were listed by Sports Illustrated as one of five teams with the most work to do prior to draft day.

Bengals still have a lot of work to do when it comes to improving the defense

They came in at No. 4 on the list, ahead of the San Francisco 49ers and behind the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns.

From Sports Illustrated:

“The Bengals deserve a ton of credit for re-signing wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, but that just kept their elite offense intact and did nothing for their poor defense. There’s also the possibility of the team losing edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who’s in his second year of searching for a better contract. It wouldn’t be a reach to say this defense doesn’t have a young core player after years of the front office whiffing on draft picks.”

It’s true that the Bengals have done little to improve the defense, and that’s worrisome. They switched out coordinators and added a couple of pieces in defensive tackle TJ Slaton and linebacker Oren Burks. Overall though, the unit looks largely the same, and it will be notably worse if Trey Hendrickson is traded.

In terms of improving before the draft, it remains to be seen just how active the Bengals will be between now and draft day. Perhaps they’ll add another piece, or two, but true impact additions shouldn’t be expected this late into free agency.

Overall, it seems like the Bengals will need two things to happen if their going to have a notably better defense in 2025. They’re going to need some young guys to take a major step forward under new coordinator Al Golden, and they’re going to have to identify some guys in the draft who can come in and contribute immediately.

If both of those things happen, the unit could potentially take a major step forward. If not, we could end up seeing a repeat of the 2024 season.