MOBILE, Ala. _ Taking a break between Wednesday's practices at the Reese's Senior Bowl, Duke Tobin put down his laminated rosters and offered his annual state of the club that could soon include some of those very names.

"We're a dangerous team that I think teams respect," said Tobin, the Bengals director of player personnel beginning his 28th season with the team. "And we have holes to fill, and we've got improvements to make and if we make the right choices in those areas, we'll have a pretty darn dynamic team going forward."

The highlights of Tobin's take on the 2024 season and how to get back to the Super Bowl in 2025 after a three-year hiatus:

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Adding Pieces

"There are very few positions we won't be looking to add players," Tobin said. But he's also not looking to rip up the roster or the way it is put together after going down to the wire in seven games lost by seven points or fewer.

"If I thought we lined up against teams that clobbered us, I would be concerned about the whole team, I'd be concerned about what we're doing," Tobin said. "We never faced a team that outclassed us. We never faced a team that was clearly better than us and we couldn't beat. Every team we faced, we could beat and, honestly, the majority of them we had beat at the end of the game and we didn't finish games. And it was every element of our team (that took turns) that didn't finish.

"I'm not down on our football team at all. I'm down on our football team's ability to finish games. We had seven games in position to win … It was a very weird year. If we get half of those games, we're in the mix of everything."

Fixing The Defense

He says fixing the defense is at the heart of getting back into that mix and takes "the blame," for the group that saw a change at the top last week when head coach Zac Taylor tapped Al Golden to replace Lou Anarumo.

"The No. 1 thing we've got to try and do is get better on defense. We have to get better as a unit in totality on defense," Tobin said. "Zac felt like we needed a new voice over there. It's not an indictment on Lou. It's as much my fault as any coach's fault or any player's fault. I take responsibility and I think other people take that responsibility. We just felt we needed a new voice there. Maybe a new direction. Just to see if we can spur this thing a little better.

"I think Lou's a great coach. A great tactician and I think he'll continue to be that. We just needed a re-set and that's what we did."

Keeping In-House Talent

He says all things are on the table as the Bengals try to keep both of their starting wide receivers with an extension for All-Pro Ja’Marr Chase and a deal for free-agent, two-time 1,000-yard receiver Tee Higgins. He also says they're prepared to extend NFL sack champion Trey Hendrickson.

Tobin also realizes they're trying to do what no one has ever done and pay a reigning receiving Triple Crown winner and a defending NFL sack champ on a team with a quarterback who signed the richest deal ever. He says they know Chase is looking at the richest non-quarterback deal ever.

"We know what it looks like. We know it's the design that we have to follow and if he's the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league, we accept that," Tobin said.

The Bengals are also looking to keep Higgins and Hendrickson beyond 2025 and realize the challenge, but Tobin believes deals can get done if there are continuing negotiations on both sides.

"I think we can get these done," Tobin said. "There has to be real engagement, and we want to get something done that everyone is accepting of."

Player Development

In following the theme of this offseason, Tobin says player development is more important than ever with the looming pay structure. The hires of Golden as defensive coordinator, Jerry Montgomery as defensive line coach/run game coordinator, Mike Hodges as linebackers coach and Scott Peters as offensive line coach represent NFL veteran coaches who have stayed long enough in stops to develop all kinds of tiers of players.

"They may not achieve the level you projected, but they have to show steady improvement, especially in the position we're in with some of the superstars we have," Tobin said. "We have to have the young guys come in and develop and continue to improve. They can't back-slide in the prime of their career. (Development) is a focus of Al's. I think that's something Al takes pride in. Knowing Al, he's very detailed and focused on that and I think the new staff will be a good, new voice for our young players to lean on in their development."

Offensive Line Growth

When it comes to the subject of the offensive line and specifically the play of the guards, Tobin says they're looking to add. But he also passionately defends the line and the offense it protects.

"(The guards) can get better, but we put a lot of stress on them because we throw the ball a lot and there's a lot of really good defensive tackles in this league," Tobin said. "There are some improvements that can be made. I'll be really curious to see how the new line coach jells with developing a couple of the younger guys we have. We'll add to the group.

"We have a darn good offense. People complain about our offense. The offensive line is half of our offense, and our offense produces points. And we produce points at a high level in the league. So you can tell me half of our offense is bad but yet is still at the top of the league? I don't believe you. Can we get better in spots? Yes. But I don't accept the fact we're grossly flawed there."

Promising Youth on Defense

Tobin kept coming back to the defense.

"We have got to get it to at least the middle of the league to where we can use our offense to seal games up and not be reliant on making a play at the end of the game," Tobin said. "We went into this year with guys who knew our system and knew each other. The majority of the starting defense started for us in the Super Bowl and maybe we stayed with that group too long and maybe that's my fault. It's not a pay thing. Our salaries for players was third highest in the league."

Tobin is bullish on a glut of young defensive players, starting with a trio of rookies up front, rookie defensive tackles Kris Jenkins Jr., and McKinnley Jackson, and edge Cedric Johnson.

"Any good defense starts up front. We're focused on it. We're looking to add there and all through the defense. But we started to play better at the end of the year and we had some young guys show up," Tobin said.

Tobin gave resounding endorsements to two youngsters who had a tough season trying to get a foothold after promising starts to their careers: Sophomore edge Myles Murphy and third-year cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt.

Tobin thinks the more reps Murphy gets, the better he'll get. Murphy, their first-round pick in 2023, ended up with only 353 plays this year after missing the first month of the season with a knee injury.

"I don't give up on Myles. He's a talented football player. He runs, he's got length, he's got intelligence. I think the future is still bright for Myles," Tobin said. "He'll be relied on to take the next step. And we need to get him to do that, and I think he will.

"He'll get in a groove the more he plays. He has to learn to finish at the top of his rushes. It's not a length problem, and not an explosion problem, it's a finish at-the-top problem. I still see the traits in him. I still think he can have a great career here and I'm looking for him to take the next step."

Taylor-Britt, a 2022 second-round pick, was benched twice this past season but came on in the last five games and looked to revive his career. It was a tough year on the corner with Dax Hill and DJ Turner II going down with season-ending injuries, but Tobin sees a silver lining.

"We found out guys like (Josh) Fig Newton and DJ Ivey can play in this league," Tobin said. "I have a belief Cam Taylor-Britt can get back to his form. He was one of the promising young cornerbacks and then for whatever reason, it just snowballed. We have to get his confidence back and get him back to the high level of ball he played for us."

Safety Discussion

For the third straight offseason, safety looks to be on the radar. In the last two, they signed veteran free agents Nick Scott, Geno Stone and Vonn Bell, as well as drafting Jordan Battle in the third round. In the middle of last year, Battle replaced Bell, as Stone began to find his footing.

"That's a position we're looking at," Tobin said. "We ran it back with some guys that have been with us for a long time. I think Battle started showing us some promise when he got more play time. He's going to be in the mix for sure.

"Geno Stone had a great year with Baltimore a year ago. Can we get that out of him? That's something we're talking to this defensive staff about. How he best fits and what they want to do. We've got a new voice over there and we have to service that voice."

The Bengals leave town after Thursday's practices to begin prepping for the NFL scouting combine a month away in Indianapolis. A horn sounded on the field as Tobin picked up his roster and the American team broke into one-one-one drills.

"The good stuff is just starting," he said.