Making up for free agency faults, a brand new first-round swing, and other 2025 NFL Draft predictions for the Bengals
The time to collect information is just about over. It's now time to put all that information to use and call our shot about the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2025 NFL Draft.Cincinnati has largely been a predictable team when it comes to the draft, but the new coaching hires, particularly with defensive coordinator Al Golden […]
The time to collect information is just about over. It's now time to put all that information to use and call our shot about the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Cincinnati has largely been a predictable team when it comes to the draft, but the new coaching hires, particularly with defensive coordinator Al Golden and offensive line coach Scott Peters, adds a certain level of variability to the equation.
That's not going to stop us from making some proclamations about what the next few days have in store for the Bengals. Here are three predictions about the Bengals and the draft.
One of two Bengals trends will be broken in the first round
The Bengals have not drafted a defensive tackle in the first round since selecting Dan Wilkinson first overall in 1994. Wilkinson turned in a solid NFL career, but Cincinnati didn't exactly reap the rewards of that decision when he was playing for his original team. Whether or not that pick has prevented the club from drafting another DT in the first round, several coaching staffs and personnel members have bypassed the opportunity.
I think that will end this week, especially if Ole Miss' Walter Nolen is available. Failing to add a proven interior pass rusher in free agency has left Cincinnati needing to find an answer in the first few rounds. The value of both Nolen and Oregon's Derrick Harmon matches up with the 17th overall pick.
If it's not a DT, EDGE appears to be the next position in focus, and while Myles Murphy became the first at that position to be a Bengals first-rounder since Justin Smith in 2001, there's a specific trend that could fall. Marshall's Mike Green and Tennessee's James Pearce Jr. are in play despite both being under 250 pounds. Size has always been a hard requirement in order to be drafted early by Cincinnati as an EDGE. Even David Pollack was 265 pounds when he was the 17th pick in 2005.
Either way, a trend is on track to be a thing of the past.
Drafting a guard in the second round is the plan
All signs point to the Bengals bypassing arguably their biggest need in the first round and attacking it head-on in the second round. The vast majority of offensive linemen they've met with are all projected to go off the board on Friday night between rounds two and three. For better or worse, this is not a club that likes taking guards earlier than they would tackles. Combining that philosophy with the gaping holes that exist on both sides of center Ted Karras, and you got a swing to make with the 49th overall pick.
Plans can go awry. If a run on linemen happens in the 30s and 40s, it could make for a pivot to another spot and all of the sudden Dalton Risner's phone gets a ring. It could lead to a reach ala Jackson Carman from 2021.
No one will know what the landscape will be on Friday evening, but the Bengals would prefer to enter the third round with an answer at one of the guard spots. Failing to properly address the need in free agency practically demands it.
Germaine Pratt or Geno Stone will be on the outside looking in
The use of "or" here is critical. I don't think the Bengals will be able to draft both a linebacker or safety early enough to push both Pratt and Stone off the team immediately. Considering that Pratt requested a trade and Stone indicated he felt safe in terms of sticking around, perhaps there will be more of an urgency to draft the former's position.
Scarcity is also a factor here. This isn't a great linebacker class and there's more depth at safety. Could that impact how early Cincinnati addresses one, or both positions? There's a strong case to be made there.
The idea of both Pratt and Stone taking the field in Week 1 is unlikely, and maybe both out of the picture falls in that category as well. But one of their futures is going to be impacted by the end of this week.
Local stars, polarizing talents, and other players the Bengals have been around multiple times leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft
Cincinnati made an effort to meet with these players multiple times.
