The Cincinnati Bengals improved their defense over the weekend by trading for three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
Cincinnati sent the New York Giants the No. 10 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft before signing Lawrence to a one-year, $28 million extension to keep him tied to the team for the next three seasons.
ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, however, isn't aboard the Bengals hype train.
"They should be a much-improved defense, OK," Smith said on "First Take" on April 20. "But there have been expectations with this team and they've come up short. Obviously, the injury bug, any time Joe Burrow gets hurt, which seems to be often, that's something they haven't been able to seem to rectify."
He then called out head coach Zac Taylor for not having his team prepared whenever the season starts in September.
"I personally call for an investigation into his offseason activities since they ain't never ready to play come September. I stand by that," Smith said, before recognizing the Bengals started 2-0 in 2025. Their season was then derailed when Burrow injured his toe in Week 2.
"Three times in Joe Burrow's six years the man has practically missed the damn season. Why? Because they have failed to protect him, putting him in the same conditions over and over and over again," Smith added.
Perhaps it will take a return to the postseason for Smith and others to believe in the Bengals. After making two straight AFC championship games and a Super Bowl during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Cincinnati has missed the playoffs the last three years.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Stephen A. Smith slams Zac Taylor, Bengals despite Dexter Lawrence deal