Bengals’ Bryan Cook signing viewed as smartest offseason decision

The Cincinnati Bengals made one of the biggest moves this offseason, trading for All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. 

While the Bengals shored up their defense with the trade, ESPN's Bill Barnwell does not view it as the best offseason move in the NFL, let alone the best offseason move that the team made. 

According to Barnwell, the Bengals' best offseason move was signing safety Bryan Cook.

"This might have been as much about who the Bengals replaced and who they brought in. Geno Stone became the emblem of what had gone wrong for the Bengals' defense. After the Bengals struggled to replace star safety Jessie Bates III , who left for the Falcons in free agency, Stone was brought in as a veteran stopgap. With the Bengals committing so much money to offense, though, they couldn't make a more meaningful addition -- and so they had to hope that Stone would be a viable replacement for a player who was making significantly more money in Atlanta."

Barnwell named the Lawrence trade the worst offseason move for the team. 

Bryan Cook appears to be strong Fit for Bengals defense

As for the Cook signing, all signs point to it looking like a great fit for the Bengals. Cincinnati signed Cook to a three-year, $40.3 milion deal at the start of free agency.

He directly addresses one of Cincinnati's biggest weaknesses – reliability and physicality in the back end. The Bengals' defense struggled mightily last season, including missing tackles, inconsistent safety play and allowing a ton of explosive plays. 

Cook thrived with the Kansas City Chiefs under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. In the process, he developed an aggressive defensive system in Kansas City, where he was asked to be a variety of things, including tackling in space and playing with physicality downhill. 

Those are the exact types of traits why the Bengals pursued him and why he could thrive in Cincinnati.

The Bengals desperately needed a player like Cook in the secondary, and adding him is certainly a need for a team trying to return to the playoffs. 

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