Bengals' Duke Tobin Says Team Can Win Title, 'We Believe We Can Outscore Anybody'

The Cincinnati Bengals have made more headlines than most teams around the NFL this offseason, and director of player personnel Duke Tobin believes they have a championship ceiling even with limitations on defense.

"I believe that our football team can go win a championship, absolutely," Tobin told reporters Monday. "It's a unique group of guys, it really is, and we will add pieces, and defensively we have to elevate ourself."

Cincinnati signed wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to extensions this offseason and have quarterback Joe Burrow under contract through the 2029 campaign. They have committed plenty of financial resources to the offensive side of the ball while building out the roster.

That star defensive end Trey Hendrickson's future with the team is still up in the air after the extensions for the star wide receivers only further underscores the commitment to offense compared to a defense that was one of the worst in the league last year.

But Tobin hasn't given up on improving both sides of the ball.

"I feel as strongly about the defense as I feel about the offense in terms of necessity, and it's got to work together," Tobin said. "You're always going to be a little heavier on one side of the ball or the other, depending on how you're paying your team. There can be an imbalance based on that, but you still have to have a complementary team. 

"We believe we can outscore anybody. That's our mindset, that's who we are, that's what we've always been about. But you always have to take care of the other side of the ball."

Burrow set franchise records with 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdown passes last season all while Chase led the NFL in catches (127), receiving yards (1,708) and touchdown catches (17).

Yet the Bengals still missed the playoffs at 9-8 in large part because their defense finished 25th in the league in points allowed and yards allowed. The inability to get key stops in support of Burrow and the explosive offense proved to be the team's undoing and put that side of the ball under the spotlight heading into the offseason.

Given that reality, it would be anything but surprising if the front office used the majority of its draft picks this year on the defensive side. Perhaps that will put the team in a better position to fulfill Tobin's championship beliefs.