2025 NFL Draft Grades: Cincinnati Bengals

Best Pick: Fourth-round linebacker Barrett Carter can flat-out fly and will challenge for time early in his career. His play tailed off some last season, but he's a guy I've had my eye on for years.

Worst Pick: I get that first-round edge Shemar Stewart fills a need, but he is raw. The talent is there. The production wasn't and I think he lacks football instincts. Coaching will be huge for him.

The Skinny: I didn't love their draft. Stewart is so raw that it could take time. Second-round linebacker Demetrius Knight has some pop and will help at a need spot. I do like guard Dylan Fairchild in the third. But this is a draft that will be all about Stewart and his development. Sixth-round running back Tahj Brooks has talent and I like his chances as a third-down back.

Top needs entering the draft: Edge rusher, linebacker, safety and guard

If there was ever a year for the Bengals to go against some long-standing trends, this was it. First, they extended Ja'Marr Chase and re-signed Tee Higgins, including guarantees beyond the first years of the respective deals -- something the Bengals have not done in the past outside of the Joe Burrow deal two offseasons ago. But if that's what it takes to retain two of the league's best receivers, you do it. The offense -- which scored 26.4 points per game last season -- will be strong again.

Second, the Bengals drafted a front-seven player in the first round. They had done so just once in the past 15 years, taking Myles Murphy late on Day 1 in 2023. No other team has taken fewer than three defensive linemen or linebackers in Round 1 over that time. I'm not sure Cincinnati had a choice. The defense likely cost it a playoff spot last season (25.5 points allowed per game). Burrow and the Bengals lost four times while scoring 33-plus points. Trey Hendrickson -- who had 17.5 of the team's 36 sacks -- requested a trade, and his future is still in question. But Hendrickson or no Hendrickson, the Bengals had to land an effective pass rusher. And they had to do it early with only six picks.

Shemar Stewart has all the explosiveness and power you'd want in an edge rusher. He rockets into the backfield. But the 4.5 career sacks mean this is still a projection. Can he put it all together in the pros? The ceiling is very high, and he will be given every opportunity to reach it. The Bengals don't have much opposite Hendrickson. I ranked Stewart 27th overall.

Cincinnati also went need hunting on Day 2. Demetrius Knight Jr. gives the Bengals an off-ball linebacker, which provides cover in case Germaine Pratt isn't in town for the long haul; he also requested a trade. Dylan Fairchild gives the Bengals a reliable guard, where the pass protection really struggled last season. Neither player came at value, though. Knight was ranked 82nd on my board and went 49th. Ratledge was ranked 110th and went 81st. On Day 3, my favorite Bengals pick was running back Tahj Brooks. He is coming off back-to-back 1,500-yard seasons on the ground and provides depth behind Chase Brown and Zack Moss.

It was sort of a ho-hum draft for the Bengals overall, which is why I gave them a "C" grade.

The Bengals smartly set out to rebuild their defense early in the draft, starting with the selection of Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart during the first round. Stewart brings immense upside as one of the most athletic edge rushers the draft has ever seen, but his lack of proven production is a massive red flag—and could mean he'll need time to develop in the pros. Cincy turned around on Day 2 and Day 3 and grabbed a pair of rangy linebackers in South Carolina's Demetrius Knight Jr. and Clemson's Barrett Carter. Both Knight and Carter are tough and physical, giving the team some tremendous depth at the position alongside Logan Wilson and Germain Pratt. Adding Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks gives the team some depth behind starter Chase Brown. Ultimately, this class will hinge on whether Stewart can emerge as a top-tier pass rusher. I think he's talented, but it could go either way.

Year in and year out, the Bengals gamble on traits, and that was again the case in 2025 with the selection of Shemar Stewart, a virtual lottery ticket of an athlete and exactly the kind of insurance policy needed with Trey Hendrickson a possible trade candidate. Insurance, in fact, seemed to be the strategy for Cincinnati in this draft, with second- and fourth-round selections used on inside linebackers Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter, signaling that popular veterans Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson might also be on the way out.

While much of the focus will understandably lie with the Bengals' defensive prospects, I like the talent and value of blockers Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers, as well as running back Tahj Brooks, a Sherman tank of a runner with excellent balance through contact.

Here's why: The Bengals tilted their shoulders back a bit early in the draft and swung for the fences, while also adding multiple bodies to positions of need. Shemar Stewart has as much upside as anyone in this draft, but has a lack of refinement and finishing in his game. But if he hits, the Bengals get a player with top-5 like talent in the late teens. Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter give the Bengals more bodies to throw at their off-ball linebacker spot.

Bengals added a pair of guards and also running back Tahj Brooks in the sixth round to help round out their running back room. I understand what they're trying to do with these picks, but the players they selected might not become impact players for a year or two.

Most interesting pick: Dylan Fairchild, OG, Georgia

Fairchild is a strong and explosive guard. His wrestling background shows up with his mauling style and propensity to try and torque defenders to the ground. He's still raw and can put himself in rough situations, but he often shows the strength and athleticism to recover. He's a fun project-y type of interior player for the Bengals to work with who can turn into a tone-setting starter.

From a macro perspective, they resourced their draft properly by investing heavily in the defense and offensive line — this team's major issues in 2024 giving up too many points and its ongoing penchant for getting QB Joe Burrow sacked three times a week. But first-round DE Shemar Stewart is your classic boom-or-bust prospect — how often does that work out in Cincinnati? — and going for a pair of linebackers afterward seemed a bit ... odd. The best thing that arguably "happened" was retaining 2024 Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Trey Hendrickson on the roster, though it's past time to address his woefully underfunded contract.

It's tough to understand what the Bengals were doing in this draft. 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.

Shemar Stewart in the first round was a very underwhelming pick. Considering Jahdae Barron was on the board and went three picks later, that would have been a far better fit the needs for head coach Zac Taylor's defense. Demetrius Knight in round two, Dylan Fairchild, in round three, Barrett Carter in round four - still no secondary picks and nothing that screams great value, either.