Cincinnati Bengals training camp has apparently gotten off to a good start.
Superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has returned to dominate defenders, franchise quarterback Joe Burrow appears content after a tumultuous 2025 season, and the team’s defense should be much improved.
The Bengals’ defense has likely been the biggest reason the team has failed to meet expectations in each of the past three seasons. In 2025, they allowed the third-most points in the NFL and missed the playoffs despite a top-10 offense.
As a result, Cincinnati prioritized addressing the defense this offseason. They pulled off a blockbuster trade for Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, added free agents Bryan Cook, Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe, and drafted pass rusher Cashius Howell. Fortunately, it appears those moves have paid off, as Howell and the rest of the defense have impressed during training camp.
Now, one of Cincinnati’s under-the-radar players on defense has also drawn praise ahead of the 2026 NFL season.
Cincinnati Bengals Defender Draws Praise at Training Camp
The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. listed edge rusher Cedric Johnson as one of the four Cincinnati Bengals players who have made a splash this training camp.
Dehner Jr. wrote: “Johnson provides depth the team desires in waves. He’s popped multiple times, bending around the edge nearly untouched, and earned a few reps against the first team as the defense rotates. Johnson’s built more like Mafe and less like the smaller Howell, but the 2024 sixth-round pick looks to be blossoming.
Johnson produced a pressure once every 7.9 pass-rush snaps last season. That ranked second among Bengals edge rushers, narrowly topped by Trey Hendrickson at 7.7.
For his career, he’s produced 23 pressures in 197 pass-rush snaps.
The flashes have been there in games; he’s merely lacked opportunity. Faith in him has only grown so far this camp, and now the defensive scheme more fits his strengths on the edge.”
Johnson appeared in nine games for Cincinnati last season. He registered only two sacks; however, as Dehner Jr. mentioned, they came in limited opportunities. Johnson’s sacks both came during the final two weeks of the 2025 season. Perhaps that strong end of the season is what he needed to find his place in the NFL.
Bengals Pass Rush
After losing All-Pro pass rusher Trey Hendrickson in free agency to the division rival Baltimore Ravens, getting meaningful contributions out of a player like Johnson would certainly help round out Cincinnati’s roster. Additionally, as previously mentioned, rookie Cashius Howell has also impressed, even when going up against Cincinnati’s first-team offense.
Hopefully, Johnson and Howell’s contributions can surprise people in the upcoming season. Despite the additions this offseason, Cincinnati’s pass rush was ranked as the 29th-best in the NFL by CBS Sports’ Carter Bahns. Bahns wrote: “While the rest of the Bengals’ defense improved on paper this offseason, the edge rusher group said farewell to its leader, Trey Hendrickson. Mafe is an upside-oriented addition who will not fully replace Hendrickson’s pass-rushing prowess, but who displayed flashes of greatness as a young starter for the Seattle Seahawks. The rest of the crew, plus second-round pick Cashius Howell, is extremely young. Cincinnati is banking on its last few drafts starting to pay off. It just might pay dividends, but it is impossible to know for sure until it actually happens.”
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