Bengals' 2025 NFL Draft picks finalized after receiving news they were very much expecting
15 NFL clubs were awarded compensatory picks in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. The Cincinnati Bengals were not one of the 15. This does not come as a surprise considering how the compensatory pick formula works. Clubs have to lose more free agents of qualifying monetary value than they gain the previous year in free […]
15 NFL clubs were awarded compensatory picks in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. The Cincinnati Bengals were not one of the 15.
This does not come as a surprise considering how the compensatory pick formula works. Clubs have to lose more free agents of qualifying monetary value than they gain the previous year in free agency. The Bengals added more free agents that qualified than they lost in 2024, including Sheldon Rankins, Geno Stone, and Trent Brown.
This is the third time in four years the Bengals were not rewarded any compensatory picks. They netted a third- and a sixth-round pick in 2024 thanks to the league correcting its original mistake of handing them two sixth-rounder initially. That third-round pick turned into defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson.
With zero compensatory picks this time around, the Bengals will still only have six picks in next month's draft. The compensatory picks being announced gives us confirmation about when those six picks will happen.
Bengals 2025 NFL Draft picks
- Round 1: 17th pick
- Round 2: 49th pick
- Round 3: 81st pick
- Round 4: 119th pick
- Round 5: 153rd pick
- Round 6: 193rd pick
Six picks would be the fewest the Bengals make in a single draft since 2022 when they traded up on two separate occasions. Those picks ended up becoming cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt in the second round, and safety Tycen Anderson in the fifth round.
There are more ways the Bengals can add draft capital. The team added a seventh-round pick last year by trading running back Joe Mixon to the Houston Texans. This year, they've granted defensive end Trey Hendrickson permission to seek a trade, which would likely return at least one draft pick their way if they go through with it.
Trading back during the draft is also a strategy they've exercised in past years. Cincinnati did this in 2023 to land safety Jordan Battle in the third round.
As of now, these are the picks the Bengals have to work with.
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