2025 NFL Mock Draft has Bengals finally replacing huge roster hole they couldn't fill last offseason
A list of the top five Cincinnati Bengals players from 2021-23 would be incorrect if DJ Reader wasn't included. Reader became one of the best nose tackles in the NFL during his three healthy seasons with the Bengals and remains in that conversation on his new team, the Detroit Lions.Reader left for the Lions this […]
A list of the top five Cincinnati Bengals players from 2021-23 would be incorrect if DJ Reader wasn't included. Reader became one of the best nose tackles in the NFL during his three healthy seasons with the Bengals and remains in that conversation on his new team, the Detroit Lions.
Reader left for the Lions this past free agency for a better contract offer than the Bengals gave him, and his former team never truly replaced him. McKinnley Jackson, a third-round pick from the 2024 NFL Draft, is about the closest they came to doing so, but Jackson isn't the same kind of nose tackle that Reader is. Very few players are.
A to Z Sports' latest 2025 NFL mock draft had the Bengals finding someone who does fit the bill.
Our own Ryan Roberts slotted the Bengals with Kentucky nose tackle Deone Walker with the 11th overall pick in the first round:
"There is a huge need on the interior of this defense for the Bengals. The team underrated what the loss of DJ Reader would do to the team, and it’s noticeable. If Walker can reach his potential, we are talking about a Pro Bowler with rare athletic upside."
Walker is one of seven defensive linemen from the SEC alone to crack Roberts' first-round mock and is the second off the board in this scenario. His resume certainly validates that.
Listed at a massive 6-6 and 345 pounds, Walker is a multi-faceted threat for opposing offensive lines. The true junior has played 34 games as of this posting and is up to 49 solo tackles, 22 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks. He's an obvious brick wall against the run, but he's yet to be graded below 80 as a pass-rusher from Pro Football Focus. Defensive tackles that big who can also disrupt the pocket are rare players.
The Bengals have managed to stabilize their defensive tackle room with rookies Kris Jenkins Jr. and Jackson, but they don't have a true difference maker and starters B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins are not under contract for much longer. Hill is set to be a free agent this offseason and Rankins has one more year remaining.
Adding Walker to the long-term mix with Jenkins and Jackson to supplement him would be an ideal way to reboot the position and re-inject the high-level talent that Reader took with him when he left.
2025 NFL Mock Draft has Bengals taking a swing at a position they always knock out of the park
Always a safe strategy for them.
