The Cincinnati Bengals went into the offseason needing to upgrade all levels of the defense, as the unit finished 30th in scoring last season. They signed defensive end Boye Mafe, safety Bryan Cook, and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, but they've yet to get a new linebacker.

The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. outlined who the Bengals need to acquire at linebacker on Monday.

"Someone. Anyone. The Bengals passed on adding a veteran or combo-backer here," he wrote. "They are not expected to pursue anyone beyond a bargain price at this point, but names like Bobby Okereke and Christian Rozeboom are still available amid a largely picked-over crop. For the most part, the Bengals will turn to the draft to fill this gap. They tried the same thing last year, and that decision doomed the season. There will be heavy pressure to develop [Barrett] Carter and [Demetrius] Knight [Jr.] for 2026."

Cincinnati drafted Knight No. 49 overall and Carter No. 119 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. Knight logged 106 tackles and three sacks last season, while Carter also had 106 tackles. They each played all 17 games.

Since the Bengals didn't sign any veteran linebackers in the first wave of free agency like Devin Lloyd or Alex Anzalone, Knight and Carter are on tap to start after just one year in the league. Depending on inexperienced players in the middle of the defense is risky for a franchise that's been below-average on that side of the ball for the last three years.

Currently, Cincinnati's backup linebackers are Oren Burks, Joe Giles-Harris, and Shaka Heyward. Burks, 31, had 48 tackles in his first season with the team last year, while Giles-Harris had 27. Heyward has 22 tackles in 18 career games.

Although Burks and Giles-Harris are veterans, the Bengals still don't have an established veteran starter. Signing Okereke would make sense, as he was seventh in football with 78 solo tackles for the New York Giants last season and has played in at least 12 games each year since entering the league in 2019. The California native has a market value of three years, $36.3 million ($12.1 million AAV), per Spotrac.

Cheaper options who are still available include Kenneth Murray Jr. and Matt Milano. Murray logged 81 tackles for the Dallas Cowboys last season and has played 11-plus games in each year since entering the league in 2020, while Milano has 572 career tackles and 14 sacks for the Buffalo Bills since 2017. Murray is worth a one-year, $4.9 million deal, while Milano is worth a one-year, $4.6 millon contract, per Spotrac.

Regardless, Cincinnati can't go into next season with its current linebackers and drafted players. Although young players can develop over multiple seasons, it's not smart to solely rely on them for short-term impact.