Bengals' latest scheduled Top 30 visit will bring in one of the top FCS prospects from the 2025 NFL Draft
When coaching changes occur, NFL Draft trends have a chance to be broken. The Cincinnati Bengals haven't drafted an FCS player with a top-100 pick in 17 years. Wide receiver Jerome Simpson hailed from then-FCS program Coastal Carolina entering the 2008 draft nine years before the school made the leap to FBS competition. The Bengals selected […]
When coaching changes occur, NFL Draft trends have a chance to be broken.
The Cincinnati Bengals haven't drafted an FCS player with a top-100 pick in 17 years. Wide receiver Jerome Simpson hailed from then-FCS program Coastal Carolina entering the 2008 draft nine years before the school made the leap to FBS competition. The Bengals selected Simpson with the 46th overall pick that year and kept him on the roster through the 2011 season.
Now with new offensive line coach Scott Peters having major influence on which new protector for Joe Burrow will the building next, the Bengals could look to take a long-awaited swing at the FCS level before Day 3 of the 2025 draft. There's now a name to keep tabs on for the next four weeks.
Bengals hosting Top 30 visit for William & Mary OT Charles Grant
Per The Draft Network's Justin Melo, the Bengals are included in Grant's upcoming Top 30 visits leading up to the draft.
Grant, who measured in at just under 6'5" and 311 pounds with 34.75" arms, started most of the last four years for the Tribe at left tackle. In 2022, Grant's first year as a full-time starter, William & Mary returned to the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the first time in seven years. His consistency only grew at left tackle over the next two years before entering the draft this offseason.
For players exiting the FCS level, athleticism testing is critical. Dominating lower-level players doesn't always translate against NFL talent if the athleticism was only impressive against non-NFL athletes.
Grant surely looks the part as an athlete on film, but has only run a 40-yard dash during the pre-draft process. He clocked in at 5.05 at William & Mary's pro day last week, a solid time at his size.
Peters and the Bengals have not been shy about the o-linemen they're interested in leading up to the draft. Grant will join Oregon's Josh Conerly Jr. and Minnesota's Aireontae Ersery as another collegiate left tackle to visit the Bengals despite the current roster having both starting tackles. There's a strong need at both guard spots, and the Bengals appear to be vetting some options to move inside at the next level.
Grant would become one of Cincy's more athletic starting linemen if he were to secure either left or right guard this offseason, and since he's projected to go off the board before the third round concludes, the Bengals would need to draft him earlier than any FCS player they've taken since Simpson. Only Cordell Volson from North Dakota State comes close as a fourth-round pick from 2022.
Coincidentally, Grant could end up taking Volson's roster spot when it's all said and done. There's certainly interest from the Bengals' side.
Bengals 2025 Pre-Draft Visits: Tracking all the players Cincinnati is meeting with with leading up to the NFL Draft
A complete list of players visiting Cincinnati leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft.
