Bengals 2025 NFL Draft takeaways: Circus out, responsible adults in for Cincinnati

New York Times

27-04-2025

CINCINNATI — There were times in 2024 when the Bengals felt like a circus. Contract disputes, trade requests, hold-ins, undisciplined defense, the Jermaine Burton saga, the Sheldon Rankins free agency whiff, going 0-3 while scoring 99 points, cracked team chemistry, the parade of missed tackles, losing game after game in improbable fashion and all the way down to Joe Burrow missing the playoffs despite landing in the MVP conversation.
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A theme emerged throughout the offseason and hit an undeniable crescendo over six picks this weekend.
The circus has left town. Responsible adults only.
The Bengals not only focused all their big spending in free agency on players where implicit knowledge of their personality and character existed inside the building, but ripped off six picks where every single one comes with strengths of maturity, leadership, responsibility and accountability.
No personality risks allowed.
'I think the theme is they love football, all six of these guys,' coach Zac Taylor said. 'Some I know better than others, but that's what you took away — they just love talking football, they love being around football and they love their teammates. They made huge impacts on the programs that they were at, and by huge impact, I mean not only on the field, but talked about them off the field and the impact that they made there. That means something to us.'
More specifically, that means something to them, again. The Bengals lost their way in that regard in recent years. Taking a chance here, a character risk there, betting on the culture established in the original renaissance of this franchise under Burrow to straighten out any talented wayward souls.
In the process, the locker room lost its way.
These three days played out like one more sweeping regripping of the culture that built runs to the Super Bowl and AFC Championships.
There was Shemar Stewart's legendarily relentless play style. Demetrius Knight being known as an 'old soul' who drove Door Dash after games while at Charlotte before transferring to South Carolina, becoming a captain immediately.
There was the instant connection between Dylan Fairchild and new offensive line coach Scott Peters as well as Miami's Jalen Rivers coming in for a 30 visit despite the fact 'you are not going to find anybody that says a bad word about the guy.' Then they added linebacker Barrett Carter, a noted captain, leader and green-dot linebacker at Clemson who says he 'leads with love.' Even sixth-round running back Tahj Brooks was a captain at Texas Tech.
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They were all responsible, accountable, team-first ball lovers. It's hard not to go back to the game-changing draft classes of 2020 and see similar themes. The most important theme being this type of no-nonsense accountability is exactly how new coordinator Al Golden wanted to rebuild this defense. There are holes in what was always going to be a multi-year project, but resetting the foundation feels like a checked box.
'This is a group with a great hunger and urgency to be great as a unit,' Taylor said. 'As a unit, as a position group and individuals, you look across the board on every single person that is on that board in there and they all have the same characteristics and that same description. That has got me fired up.'
Tahj Brooks, RB, Texas Tech, sixth round. The value of running back in this draft was just too good to pass up. Brooks had a fifth-round grade, but considering his production and elite agility, he could have gone much higher any other year. Brooks is built like a block of granite and ran for 1,500 yards and 5.2 yards per carry in each of his last two seasons, dropping in 27 touchdowns over that span. He ideally rounds out a running back room headed by Chase Brown with veterans Samaje Perine and Zack Moss also available for snaps.
The first one. Stewart was a home-run swing for a team that felt designed to seek out a more sure thing up front. Cincinnati is betting on traits with an understanding that it could take time to develop his elite traits into more production than 4.5 sacks in three seasons. Missing or waiting years on Stewart to come along could cost this team a Super Bowl when you consider the window they are in and it is only exacerbated by the Bengals still going through the traits to production process with 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy (zero sacks in 2024). Stewart will clearly play a role this year, including kicking inside if necessary to add juice to a sluggish interior pass rush, but whether or not they can get even 50 percent out of his immense upside in Year 1 could go a long way to deciding how much teeth exists in this defense.
The Bengals stood behind safety Geno Stone in this draft. Despite not giving a round of ringing endorsements throughout the offseason, there was no competition added. Golden even passed on his former Notre Dame captain Xavier Watts twice. That leaves special teams maven Tycen Anderson around to dip his toe into a competition for Stone or solidify a spot as the third safety with 2024 safety Daijahn Anthony, of fourth-and-16 against the Chiefs notoriety, to hold down the back of the room. They need Stone to be a better tackler and overall player than last year, but it's fair to wonder if he can take that next step. If he doesn't, the insurance options are limited.
For all the reformation of the defense for Golden over the draft and during free agency, the roster still has one notable missing piece. Where is the pass-rushing defensive tackle? The Bengals only have four defensive tackles on the roster (Kris Jenkins Jr., McKinnley Jackson, TJ Slaton and BJ Hill). Also, none of those four boasts a strength rushing the passer. That felt like a primary need of the entire offseason but not a single defensive tackle with a strength getting after the passer was added to the mix.
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They prioritized run-stopping and expecting a jump from Jenkins, who struggled to a 2.9 percent win rate last year. Golden discussed a desire to kick Shemar Stewart, Joseph Ossai, Cam Sample and Myles Murphy inside if needed on passing downs, taking advantage of their size and versatility. Their usage in a sub-package will be part of the plan and a welcome adjustment, but there still seems to be a hole on the roster in terms of creating disruption up the middle on early downs.
'I think that's something you're always looking at and we just, again, at different points in the draft, hit at some other spots,' Taylor said. 'Undrafted free agency is still coming. We'll work hard to add some guys to the mix there and I think we feel good about the four guys we have in the room right now.'
The Bengals were workmanlike in checking off their long list of needs in this draft. They didn't add picks with any trades, so it's not complete (DT, safety), but they checked off every box with a player that's easy to believe in. In fact, it's not out of the realm of possibility to think each of the first three picks will be starting in Week 1. This would mark the first time in franchise history that would be the case. They have cleared a path to that outcome for Stewart, Knight Jr. and Fairchild.
Competition on the offensive line at both guard spots and backup tackle will be the theme of training camp and that's by design with new offensive line coach Scott Peters looking to implement a new, more athletic, aggressive, technical style up front. If competition can create stability and Golden's plan for accountability and consistency returns the defense to average, it's fair to say the Bengals roster is right where it should be with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in tow: Among the Super Bowl contenders.
(Photo of Shemar Stewart: Randy J. Williams / Associated Press)