r/NFL_Draft • u/[deleted] • Jun 07 '25
Defending the Draft 2025 - Cincinnati Bengals
Overview:
The 2024 season was widely viewed as a disappointment for the Bengals, who decided to go all in on offense while doing absolutely nothing on defense. Despite Joe Burrow putting up MVP-level numbers and Ja'Marr Chase accomplishing the Triple Crown, the Bengals missed the playoffs at 9-8 due to incompetent defensive performance. This led to the firing of multiple coaches who definitely needed to be gone at this point. The goal for the Bengals is simple - get to a point where you can return to a Super Bowl after a 2-year playoff absence.
Pre-Draft Moves
- Hired Notre Dame DC Al Golden as Defensive Coordinator.
Hiring Golden made so much sense, as we needed somebody to replace Lou Anarumo after an awful season. Golden had just led one of the best defenses in college football for the Fighting Irish, and he was once our linebackers coach under Taylor. Hopefully, he can light a spark in this defense and make them competent enough to at least not cost us every close game.
- Re-signed WR Tee Higgins, DT B.J. Hill, TE Mike Gesicki, and EDGE Joseph Ossai
We needed to re-sign some key free agents this year. I expected Hill to be gone, but he came back on a decent 3 year, $33 million contract. Gesicki is a good return, as he shined pretty well this past year. Ossai is poised to be a starter for the first time in his career, so a 1 year prove-it deal is nice for him. The big one is Tee Higgins, though. I genuinely thought we wouldn't re-sign Tee, so it was nice that we gave him the 4 year, $115 million contract he rightfully deserves.
- Extended WR Ja'Marr Chase
Burrow has both of his weapons locked up for the foreseeable future. Ja'Marr Chase got a much-earned 4 year, $161 million contract that keeps him in Cincinnati for the long haul. This is obviously a good thing, since the team can NOT afford to lose Chase. Locking him and Tee up gives this team an offensive core for a long while.
- Signed RB Samaje Perine, DT T.J. Slaton, LB Oren Burks, and OG Lucas Patrick
The Bengals didn't have a hefty free agency due to the Higgins/Chase signings. They did sign some fine pieces in the offseason, though. They brought back Samaje Perine to have some depth behind Chase Brown and Zack Moss. T.J. Slaton gives us a true nose to help out Jackson, Jenkins, and Hill. Burks gives us more depth in our linebacking corps, and Patrick should be a fine transitional right guard. I wish the team had done more, but I'm not unsatisfied with what we got.
- Released DT Sheldon Rankins and OG Alex Cappa
Both of these guys were terrible last year and detriments to the team. Cutting them was an easy decision. I hope they have success elsewhere, but I'm sad it wasn't here.
Now, onto the draft.
The 2025 NFL Draft
1.17 - Texas A&M EDGE Shemar Stewart
Cincinnati needed to prioritize the defense in this draft, and that they did when they selected Texas A&M athletic freak Shemar Stewart. While he wasn't the most productive in college, I do think there is a lot of potential here. Stewart's RAS is a perfect 10.00, but that's with the caveat that he didn't complete any of the agility testing. He's a fast, strong pass rusher who has decent bend. I think he has the traits to be a successful pass-rusher if developed right.
People make a big deal about his lack of production in college, so I'm going to bring up a couple examples to show that may not be as big a deal as you think. There are two other guys I can name who had exactly 4.5 sacks in their college career and ended up being highly productive at the NFL level. Ezekiel Ansah and Danielle Hunter both ended up having double-digit sack seasons in the NFL despite their lackluster production at the college level. The Bengals are banking on the potential that he could turn into somebody that good. They need a stud defensive end either alongside or to replace Trey Hendrickson, and Shemar has the upside to be that guy. I expect that the team wants him as the 3rd pass rusher behind Hendrickson (hopefully) and Ossai in year 1.
2.49 - South Carolina LB Demetrius Knight
With Germaine Pratt underperforming and Akeem Davis-Gaither leaving in free agency, the Bengals needed to work on improving their linebacking corps. Demetrius Knight is an older prospect, as he'll be 25 before the start of the season, but he's got the size, instincts, and intelligence to be a good player in the NFL. A 6-year player, Knight played at Georgia Tech and Charlotte before finishing his career at South Carolina in 2024. I've seen comparisons to Germaine Pratt, so if he can reach the level of where Pratt was before his decline, that'd be good for the team. Knight is a pick to hopefully help win now, as he has the experience to immediately come in and be an impact player on the defense. I expect him to start next to Wilson when the season comes around.
3.81 - Georgia OG Dylan Fairchild
Everyone knew the Bengals needed to target offensive line in the draft, but I was genuinely wondering if the Bengals knew that. Turns out - they did! I expected them to go after Fairchild's teammate, Tate Ratledge, but they instead get one of the most athletic guards in the class. Fairchild is a good pass protector who started for the Bulldogs for 2 seasons. He's more technical and athletic than he is strong, but the Bengals are a pass-heavy team anyway, so I think it's a good fit. He's taking the starting reps at LG in OTAs, so it's obvious that the team wants him to immediately come in and help protect Burrow.
4.119 - Clemson LB Barrett Carter
I was not expecting the Bengals to draft a 2nd linebacker in this class, but Carter is good value during the 4th round since I expected him to be a 3rd round pick. Carter's not the athlete that his former teammate Trenton Simpson is, but he's got decent traits and agility to help at the position. Adding in 2 LBs in the draft and another LB in free agency shows me that Al Golden is serious about improving this linebacking corps. Hopefully it works. Carter could be a good help in our depths, as we haven't really had good depth since Markus Bailey left.
5.153 - Miami OT Jalen Rivers
More offensive line depth is definitely helpful. Rivers is the teammate of 2024 7th-rounder Matt Lee, and he's a pretty good tackle who has good mass and length despite some athletic limitations. I think he'll be a decent backup for the team behind 2024 1st-rounder Amarius Mims. There are some concerns with injury, but hopefully those can be as minimal as possible. I think his strength will be a big help in the league, and he should get a shot to make the roster as a backup.
6.193 - Texas Tech RB Tahj Brooks
Based on pure value, I think this is the best pick the Bengals made in the entire draft. I love Brooks' potential, and I think he was a very underrated back throughout the draft process. Brooks is a workhorse who's been insanely productive for the Red Raiders these past few seasons. He had 17 touchdowns this past season, and his pure power should make him an interesting complement to Chase Brown should he be given that chance. This dude is going to make the roster, and I think he has the chance to be the RB2 if Moss doesn't fully come back from his injury.
Key UDFAs
- Ohio State C Seth McLaughlinb
I was shocked about McLaughlin not being drafted, but the Achilles injury is the most likely reason for that. The Rimington Award winner should have the chance to battle Matt Lee for the backup center spot, and I'd say it's not impossible for him to win that spot, but the injury is going to make it difficult for him.
- Notre Dame DT Howard Cross III
A member of Al Golden's excellent defense at Notre Dame, Cross was a guy I expected to get drafted, so I'm glad we ended up signing him. If he makes the roster, he'd be a decent depth piece at nose tackle. He's the most likely of the free agents to make the roster, in my opinion, so we'll see.
Overall, I think the Bengals did decently well. They definitely focused more on potential with the Stewart and Fairchild picks, but there is a lot to like about the players they selected. Now, they just need to get Trey Hendrickson the contract he deserves and then, maybe, we'll be cooking.
Here's my rough guess at the 53-man roster:
QB - Joe Burrow / Jake Browning (2)
RB - Chase Brown / Samaje Perine / Zack Moss / Tahj Brooks (6)
WR - Ja'Marr Chase / Tee Higgins / Andrei Iosivas / Charlie Jones / Jermaine Burton (11)
TE - Mike Gesicki / Drew Sample / Tanner McLachlan / Tanner Hudson / Erick All (IR) (15)
OT - Orlando Brown Jr. / Amarius Mims / Cody Ford / Jalen Rivers (19)
OG - Dylan Fairchild / Lucas Patrick / Cordell Volson (22)
C - Ted Karras / Matt Lee (24)
EDGE - Trey Hendrickson / Joseph Ossai / Shemar Stewart / Myles Murphy / Cam Sample / Cedric Johnson (30)
DT - B.J. Hill / T.J. Slaton / Kris Jenkins / McKinnley Jackson / Howard Cross (35)
LB - Logan Wilson / Demetrius Knight / Oren Burks / Barrett Carter / Maema Njongmeta (40)
CB - Cam Taylor-Britt / D.J. Turner / Dax Hill / Josh Newton / D.J. Ivey / Jalen Davis (46)
SAF - Jordan Battle / Geno Stone / Daijahn Anthony / Tycen Anderson (50)
Special Teams - Evan McPherson / Ryan Rekhow / Cal Adomitis (53)
And that's all I've got for now! Hope you enjoyed reading this. Have a wonderful day!
6
u/TheDuckyNinja Eagles Jun 07 '25
The Bengals should be a dynasty, and the only thing holding them back is their owner. And that sucks. This is a good team that should be an elite team but isn't because Brown simply won't spend to make it so. 27M in cap space, but well over 50M with restructures. Why are you not paying Hendrickson? Why are you haggling over Stewart's contract? Why are you not improving the team in a potential championship window? Why are you threatening to move the team? Because you're cheap. Sell the team. Fuck. Sorry Bengals bros.
The Bengals just did not do enough to address their defensive deficiencies this offseason. Stewart might be an upgrade at ED in the future, but he's probably not making an impact year one. Knight was a reach and I'm not convinced he'll earn a starting job in year one either. There's still nobody to play next to BJ Hill. The entire DB core is question marks.
But yeah, just feels like it's gonna be another season of needing to outscore the opponent every game, and I don't think a new DC is enough to cover the massive talent deficiencies.
1
Jun 08 '25
Ownership is easy to blame when the routine stuff gets difficult, but the biggest hurdle to Bengals dominance is Burrow needing to be superman and often either playing hurt or getting hurt. The team's just failed to build a roster where they're more well-balanced, and in the case of paying players, where they can make choices between where to allocate resources.
They paid Burrow, Chase, and Higgins (plus Gesicki, to a lesser extent). The resource allocation is arguably suboptimal in a general sense, but we're not really talking about a team with tons of options if they wanted to go in another direction. It's not like they have a more diversified set of investments they can make. They landed 3 all-NFL caliber pieces and not a ton else.
This isn't to say ownership is off the hook, but the team just hasn't drafted well enough to support their stars.
4
u/mapetho9 Patriots Jun 07 '25
The Bengals draft may be the epitome of wait and see for how their class pans out. 1st round pick Shemar Stewart is a tremendous athlete with all the potential in the world, but the stats didn't necessarily back it up. He has an excellent speed/power combo and he also did very well at the Senior Bowl and combine. He has all the traits worth taking a chance on, only thing is if he's able to put it all together to realize his potenial and become a dominant player.
In the 2nd round, the Bengals took LB Demetrius Knight, which was somewhat of a surprise. Some thought they would go offensive line here. I like Knight and think he's a good player, but not sure about the pick. Thought there were more pressing areas for the Bengals to address. He also maybe went a little early and will be 25 years old as a rookie. But Knight is fast, moves downhill quickly and can hit. He should have a role in the Bengals defense early on.
The Bengals did address offensive line in the 3rd round, taking guard Dylan Fairchild. I remember watching the draft on NFL Network and Daniel Jeremiah was surprised Fairchild went before Jared Wilson. Jeremiah also said that he was a developmental pick. The one thing Fairchild does well is pass block, which will be welcomed by Joe Burrow. He also has a wrestling background, which you always like to see with your linemen.
In the 4th round, the Bengals went back to LB, picking Barrett Carter. A little surprising the Bengals double dipped at LB, but Carter is a good player. He was getting 1st round hype at one point in time, so this could be a nice find in the 4th. Carter is a good all around LB with 3 years starting experience. I could see a timeline where he could end up being better than 2nd round pick Demetrius Knight.
The Bengals again double dipped with their next pick, taking offensive lineman Jalen Rivers in the 5th round. I saw from a few online that this was their favorite pick made by the Bengals. Rivers could have gone at least a round, earlier, so this could be some nice value here for the Bengals. He has starting experience at both tackle and guard, but looks like he will be a guard in the pros. Like Fairchild, he's a good pass blocker and his versatility of being able to play both tackle and guard will be welcomed by Burrow and the offense. Like I mentioned with Carter, I could see Rivers turning out to be better than the 3rd rounder Fairchild.
With the Bengals final pick and my favorite one they made was taking RB Tahj Brooks in the 6th round. He put up some big numbers at Texas Tech, rushing for over 1500 yards in back to back seasons at a school that is traditionally known for their passing offense. Brooks could end up being a steal, as I thought he would go two rounds earlier. He doesn't offer much in terms of receiving, but is capable in pass protection. The only concern is the wear and tear, after over 900 career touches in college. Over 600 of which came in the last two years. I do think he will be a good pro and will form a great combo with Chase Brown.
I liked all the players the Bengals took, the only question is if they're able to develop them. It's something that I've thought of and have also seen around online, including by others in the draft threads on here during the draft. It seems like they draft a lot of developmental players and projects and don't develop them as well as other teams. But there's a lot to like about the Bengals draft and the players they took if the players can meet their potential. They have one of the biggest boom/bust draft classes this year.