INDIANAPOLIS — When NFL coaches arrive at the scouting combine, the catchphrases that quietly dominated their behind-the-scenes conversations during offseason roster evaluations emerge into public, popping up in the convention center hallways and hotel lobbies.

For a Cincinnati Bengals staff facing an organization-defining task of fixing its defense, one term continues to come up this week: Force multipliers.

In separate sessions, often unprovoked, de facto GM Duke Tobin, head coach Zac Taylor and defensive coordinator Al Golden all used the phrase.

A force multiplier is defined as a tool, tactic or person that significantly increases the effectiveness of a group or effort. For the Bengals, finding them will be the focus of free agency.

While you can find players in the draft capable of lifting the play of those around them, the Bengals are aware that, in their situation, established starting-level players would have a larger-than-normal impact.

“I do think with free agents, they know what the league looks like,” Taylor said. “They know what takes place in the locker room, what takes place in practice. They know what it looks like in a playoff game, a division game. They have the edge from that experience.”

That application starts with an understanding of how many players on the defense they determined could be counted on.

“I’m really excited about the nucleus we have coming back. It’s not a fresh start,” Golden said, pointing out his unit’s notable statistical improvement over the final eight games. “There are pieces there.”

Who are those pieces?

The Bengals are banking on Dax Hill and DJ Turner to hold down the corners, and there will be extension talks for both, who the team sees as high-end starters.

Myles Murphy will play one edge spot, and Golden is entertaining the idea that he can evolve into a premier player.

“Can he be a one?” Golden said, regarding the possibility of Murphy becoming elite-level edge. “Put him here right now and he’s going to say yes, and I’m going to say yes, and (defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery) is going to say yes. Let’s see how good we can get.”

Tobin and Golden heaped praise on B.J. Hill, dubbing him a “warrior” for playing through injury last season. Even at 31 years old and coming off an offseason surgery to clean up his ankle injury, Hill is viewed as part of the solution.

“He had significant things that were going on in his foot and ankle,” Tobin said. “We tried to get them to Sundays and he battled through. That’s what he’s all about. Those are the type of guys you need.”

Perhaps the biggest winner of the week was safety Jordan Battle, who drew excited praise from Taylor, Tobin and Golden for his development entering his fourth season. He will be featured.

There was also optimism around 2025 first-round pick Shemar Stewart, with the disclaimer that he will be a critical work in progress after a rookie season marred by injuries and an offseason contract squabble.

There was an admission of the difficult task put upon the two rookie linebackers, Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter, but also that the growing pains started to pay off down the stretch.

Yet, the Bengals need to figure out how to raise the floor around these players and bring stability. That’s where free agency comes into play. The Bengals are targeting versatility, leadership and players with specific traits that fit Golden’s scheme. They want players who can enhance the pieces already in place.

First, there’s leadership. While players like Turner and Battle evolved as leaders over the season, everyone recognized that the quality will be targeted at all three levels in free agency.

“In order to be a leader, you gotta have skins on the wall and you gotta play effectively,” Tobin said. “And the rest of your teammates have to know that you are producing at a high level. It’s hard to lead when you’re not out on the field or you’re not producing well. So the first trait of a good leader is production, is actually producing in a way that everyone respects and wants to mimic.”

A free agent class loaded with linebackers and safeties with reputations as leaders, not to mention over age 30, stands out.

Since Taylor arrived in 2019, the Bengals haven’t signed or extended a defensive free agent 30 or older for more than $2 million per year. That might change this year.

“They’re playing longer these days and we’re keenly aware of that,” Tobin said.

The second factor will be playing a complementary position. The primary example is the need to add a combo linebacker capable of blitzing and setting an edge more often. Golden forced Knight into that role last year, and that proved to be outside his skill set.

“We got to get better,” Golden said. “We got to get deeper. Having somebody with a combo presence. I would prefer not to have Demetrius play on the line of scrimmage as much as we did. There will be times he does do that. I would prefer to add another piece and have that veteran wisdom and all those things.”

Notable veteran combo linebackers include Leo Chenal (Kansas City) and Alex Singleton (Denver). Detroit’s Alex Anzalone boasted a 29 percent pressure rate, second among off-ball linebackers. That group pairs with high-leadership linebackers Demario Davis (New Orleans) and Bobby Wagner (Washington), among others.

A linebacker capable of helping more as a blitzer and off the edge can augment Golden’s scheme, which he bemoaned severely lacked the number of pressures and stunts he prefers to use. That’s largely because those line stunts need to be called in the moment before the play by linebackers who understand what they are looking at. Knight and Carter rarely did early on.

The front suffered for that until the latter portion of the season, and the experience helped recognize those opportunities.

“Those guys settled in nicely for us,” Golden said. “And again, that’s my fault. We asked them to do more than we should have early on. Those guys responded, and we made progress there. And hopefully, there’s a nice starting point for us.”

The Bengals will also target players with the ability to play both inside at defensive tackle or kick out to the edge. Defensive linemen John Franklin-Myers and Dre’Mont Jones have backgrounds playing both inside and out throughout their careers.

Adding another edge with versatility could help Stewart, too. The unknown about his development and growth warrants adding a free agent to augment the edge rush. You just have to make sure not to take away his snaps, as his ceiling is too important to the bigger picture.

The other schematic twist would be finding a safety who fits well next to Battle. Golden seeks a player more prone to park in the post than play close to the box, where Battle does his best work.

“Jordan really came on as a box safety,” Golden said. “So, ideally, maybe someone that can go into the slot and cover a little bit more, or feel better about certain matchups, or somebody that just really complements Jordan’s skills, and maybe not somebody that’s exactly like him. And if we can do that, obviously, I think we’ll improve our defense.”

Golden perked up at the possibility of adding a slot-safety hybrid, a type that has trended into popularity thanks to Kyle Hamilton, Derwin James, Nick Emmanwori and others. It’s a significant selling point for Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. The ability of that type of player to fix problems and create havoc from multiple levels of the field leans into what Golden wants to be a core tenet of his defense.

“I love versatility in our system, in our program, and especially if you can do it without substitution,” he said. “That’s what makes you dangerous.”

There’s another phrase to describe that impact.

“Who wouldn’t want to have somebody like that?” Golden said. “You need force multipliers, right?”

This March, may the force multipliers be with them. If they are, Tobin is confident about what that would mean for the Bengals.

“We got a team that can, in my opinion, win it all,” Tobin said. “That’s my opinion. Nobody else believes it — fine. Am I aware of that? Yes. And do I think that we can make additions this offseason that push us over the hump? I do.”