Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Tanner McLachlan moving past glorified redshirt rookie season

Bengals roster breakdown is back! During the 99 days leading up to Cincinnati's regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the player with the matching jersey number as days remaining will become the day's highlighted player.84 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, which puts No. 84 Tanner McLachlan in focus. […]

John Sheeran — Cincinnati Bengals News Writer
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Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tanner McLachlan (84) runs drills during practice, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Kettering Health Practice Field in Downtown Cincinnati.
© Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bengals roster breakdown is back! During the 99 days leading up to Cincinnati's regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the player with the matching jersey number as days remaining will become the day's highlighted player.

84 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, which puts No. 84 Tanner McLachlan in focus.

Tanner McLachlan

  • Age: 26
  • Year: 2nd
  • Position: Tight end
  • College: Arizona
  • Previous Teams: None
  • Jersey Number: 84

McLachlan, a native of Alberta, Canada, enters his second season with the Bengals after being drafted 194th overall in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He played two seasons at Arizona and spent the previous four years at Southern Utah. He totaled 79 receptions for 984 yards and six touchdowns in 25 career games for the Wildcats, and his 45 receptions from 2024 alone were a school record for tight ends. 

Cincinnati kept McLachlan on its 53-man roster for all 18 weeks but he only played in two games toward the end of the season in Weeks 16 and 17. He ran a grand total of one route in those two games, and it was on the same play that Ja'Marr Chase broke his own franchise single-season record for receiving yards.

Contract Details

McLachlan is in the second year of his four-year, $4,203,056 rookie contract. He will earn a base salary of $960,000 for the 2025 season, which also represents his total cash earnings for the year.

When adding on his signing bonus proration of $45,764, McLachlan's cap hit for the season will be $1,005,764.

Roster Outlook

McLachlan was considered a value pick for the Bengals last year, but he was essentially treated as a redshirt player as a rookie. His development needed plenty of work as he transitioned to an NFL offense, and Cincinnati having four other tight ends who were actually ready to contribute immediately didn't help his case to play. The biggest question surrounding McLachlan entering year two is how much that has actually changed.

Drew Sample, Mike Gesicki, Cam Grandy, and Tanner Hudson are all still here and likely ahead of McLachlan on the depth chart. Tight ends coach James Casey alluded to McLachlan's blocking as to why he wasn't on the field for 99% of last year. Showing improvement in that regard will be the best way for McLachlan to earn more trust in an offense that has plenty of one-dimensional players at his position. 

It's fair to say McLachlan is less likely to make the roster this year compared to last, but spending an entire year developing him on the active roster should have weight in the discussion. He's got the edge over rookie UDFA Kole Taylor if the Bengals go five at the position again at the very least. 

Roster odds: 60%
Projected role: Reserve tight end

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