Bengals News (4/27): Early front-runner at guard?

Dylan Fairchild apparently is in a position where one of the starting guard spots is his to lose.

Bengals Select LB Barrett Carter With 119th Overall Pick
Bengals Reaction: “Impressive human being. 4.0 GPA. Pre-snap, he’s clearly in charge of that defense. A pure stack linebacker, but good in zone with good coverage skills. Four-down value. Early down. Third downs. Special teams. One of the more authentic interviews I had at the combine. As far as the pick, it was another unwavering moment… He’s a cultural creator. He’ll help ours.” – DC Al Golden.

Bengals Select T Jalen Rivers With 153rd Overall Pick
Bengals Reaction: “Jalen has that versatility, and that will prove valuable for us… that versatility will factor for us, it’s only a positive.” – OC Dan Pitcher on Rivers playing all over the offensive line

Bengals Select Tahj Brooks With 193rd Overall Pick
“It was a great experience. I’m very blessed that the Bengals organization drafted me. It was awesome. It put a smile to my face. Me and the running backs coach (Justin Hill) go very well. He was a guy that recruited me in college and I’m glad I got to be back with him.” – Tahj Brooks on receiving the call he was drafted

Kole Taylor Signs with the Cincinnati Bengals
The Grand Junction, Colorado, native led the Mountaineers in receptions in 2023 with 45 for 444 yards and 4 touchdowns to earn All-Big 12 Second Team selection. He recorded a career-high 64 receiving yards in the season finale against Baylor and set his career-best five receptions against Houston.

Bengals LB Demetrius Knight Jr. reminisces on delivery driver past
The linebacker played at three different schools and finished his six-year college career with the South Carolina Gamecocks, where he was named a team captain and co-MVP for their defense. When Knight received the phone call from Bengals coach Zac Taylor to let him know he was coming to Cincinnati, he was sitting next to his wife, Jensy and his two children, Kamila, 2, and Malachi, 10 months.

Ohio State Center Seth McLaughlin Signs with Cincinnati Bengals As Undrafted Free Agent | Eleven Warriors
While the Rimington Trophy-winning Ohio State center went undrafted, likely as a result of the torn Achilles that ended his lone season as a Buckeye, he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals shortly after the conclusion of the 2025 NFL draft as an undrafted free agent.

‘He’s going to become my best buddy’ — Shemar Stewart inadvertently puts pressure on the Bengals to resolve their ongoing issue
It’ll take a village. The coaching staff needs a plan to get his technique up to form in order to play early and often. An understanding of what he does best and where to line him up along the defensive line is also necessary.

Analysis: What we learned about the Bengals’ 2025 NFL draft class
“Really excited about the six men that we drafted,” Taylor said in his post-draft press conference. “I think they all really fit us really well from a standpoint of what their abilities are and how they’re going to fit in the locker room. I’m really impressed with this class and I think we made the football team a lot better over the last three days and I’m really excited about it.”

Bengals wasted no time covering draft misses with UDFAs – Yahoo Sports
The moves came on the heels of the Bengals not addressing the needy pass-rush outside of the first round and ignoring the interior of the defensive line completely over the course of their six picks during the draft.

NFL Draft Takeaways: Three Thoughts on Cincinnati Bengals’ 2025 NFL Draft Class
Cincinnati didn’t add a safety and they didn’t add an interior pass rusher. They were in on Walter Nolen, but he was taken one pick ahead of them in the first round. They also liked other defensive tackles throughout the draft, including Nebraska’s Ty Robinson on day three, but it wasn’t meant to be. He was picked by the Eagles in the fourth round (111th overall) eight picks before the Bengals selection (119).

Bengals 2025 NFL Draft Recap
He could have been talking about the Bengals defense as a whole, too, after new coordinator Al Golden bagged the draft’s most athletic defensive lineman with Texas A&M EDGE Shemar Stewart in the first round to go with his two linebacker captains, South Carolina’s Demetrius Knight Jr. in the second round and Clemson’s Barrett Carter in the fourth.

Cincinnati Bengals draft picks, grades: NFL draft order, mock drafts, rumors as Shemar Stewart taken at No. 17 – CBSSports.com
The franchise is armed with one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL in Joe Burrow and boasts arguably the top receiving duo in the league in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Despite the firepower of a top-10 scoring offense, the organization floundered to begin the 2024 season and, despite a 5-0 surge down the stretch, were on the outside looking in on the playoffs for the second consecutive season and for the third time in the Burrow era.

The Bengals aren’t interested in being patient with third-round guard Dylan Fairchild
“We just met and watched film and went over different types of install, and then me and coach Peters did a little demonstration where we just basically put hands on each other,” Fairchild said. “That’s where I really felt a connection.”