The Bengals new linebacker has always delivered.
Bengals 2025 NFL Draft Notebook
The first three rounds were uncommonly impactful in recent club history with two potential Opening Day starters and a rotational regular. The sense is the trio of players they grabbed on Saturday’s last day of the draft were ranked much higher on their draft board than where they were selected
Bengals 2025 Draft Grades
The 2025 NFL Draft is in the books and the Cincinnati Bengals have invested in defense, protection, and flexibility. Media outlets across the country are weighing in with grades and expert analysis.
Major Outlets Give Cincinnati Bengals Rough Grades For 2025 NFL Draft Class
“It’s tough to understand what the Bengals were doing in this draft,” Matt Verdarame wrote. “Cincinnati had glaring defensive needs on the line and in the secondary. Somehow, the team didn’t take a corner or safety at any point, while selecting multiple guards. The Bengals also took a linebacker, in Knight, who is 25 years old after playing six years in college across three programs. The values were largely poor, and the talents don’t have high ceilings.”
2025 NFL draft: RAS scores for new Bengals rookie class
And one of the best overall resources for doing so is looking at the Relative Athletic Score (RAS), created by Kent Lee Platte. The metric combines details like prospect testing and size and compares it to historical data against a given position, with 10 being the highest possible score.
Trey Hendrickson, Germaine Pratt headline 5 Bengals impacted by the draft
Hendrickson had the Bengals up against it in negotiations for his contract extension before the draft. They had no answers at edge rusher for the short or long term. They regain leverage by picking Stewart. A plan for life without Hendrickson is in place between Stewart, Myles Murphy and rotational pieces behind them.
Look: Cincinnati Bengals Draft Class Among Bottom Half of Athleticism Rankings
Kent Lee Platte, the founder of Relative Athletic Score, ranked all 32 2025 NFL Draft classes by their total RAS and Cincinnati checked in at No. 17 overall. It’s a seven-spot jump from the 2024 draft haul.
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.
Zac Taylor Addresses Defensive Tackle Position Health Following No Selections in 2025
CINCINNATI — The 2025 NFL Draft did not produce a defensive tackle draft pick for the Bengals over the weekend. Cincinnati did add two DTs in undrafted free agency, but Zac Taylor said they just didn’t see the board fall the right way to boost one of the team’s biggest roster needs right now.
Cincinnati Bengals needed to fill a vital role for an Al Golden defense, and they found an unorthodox star for it in the 2025 NFL Draft
Linebacker was a massive need for the Cincinnati Bengals heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, especially when you consider how important the position is in an Al Golden defense. The organization is dealing with figuring out the future for starting middle linebacker Germaine Pratt, who demanded a trade earlier this offseason. It appears the Pratt era has officially come to an end after the Bengals selected South Carolina safety Demetrius Knight Jr. with the No. 49 overall selection in the second round.
Bengals rookie with ‘authentic interviews’ can lead culture shift
“One of the more authentic interviews I had at the combine,” Golden said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “As far as the pick, it was another unwavering moment… He’s a cultural creator. He’ll help ours.”
