Another candidate to boost the Bengals’ defense.
Even though the Cincinnati Bengals extending Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins is the biggest and most important development of this offseason, the trenches still need to be a priority.
Whether the Philadelphia Eagles and their roster building last season was an anomaly or not, here’s what I do know. The Eagles extended both wide receivers, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, last offseason, and they still managed to boast one of the NFL’s best offensive and defensive lines.
It can be done, and the Bengals will have to do it to a similar degree to how the Eagles did it.
One way to beef up the trenches is by nailing draft picks on offensive and defensive lines.
That’s why the Bengals hosted South Carolina defensive tackle TJ Sanders on Monday in a pre-draft visit, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Sanders came on strong the last two seasons, posting 8.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss. He also had 93 tackles over the last two seasons.
Ranked as the No. 9 defensive tackle in The Athletic’s Dane Brugler’s annual draft guide “The Beast,” Brugler stands at 6’3” and 305 lbs. with a 31.5-inch vertical jump and a 9’4” broad jump at the NFL Scouting Combine this past Winter. Sanders also ran a 4.95 40-yard dash at his Pro Day.
The Bengals have a thin but talented defensive line room going into 2025. Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinley Jackson showed flashes in their rookie seasons in 2024, and the Bengals extended defensive line stalwart B.J. Hill and signed former Packers defensive tackle T.J. Slaton in free agency back in March.
But the more bodies on the defensive line, the better. Other defensive line prospects like Walter Nolen have been linked to the Bengals in NFL Mock Drafts, so it’s clear that the defensive line can, and should, be a target for the Bengals in the First Round and even beyond in the NFL Draft.
