An Early Look At Cincinnati’s Biggest Draft Needs
Credit: Cara Owsley via Imagn Images
The Philadelphia Eagles are your 2024 NFL Champions. That fact means that there are now 31 NFL teams not residing in the City of the Brotherly Shove that are now actively trying to find ways to emulate the Eagles’ success while also taking them — and everyone else — down in 2025.
In the case of the Cincinnati Bengals, their goal is to move past a season that was riddled with “what if” moments, hinge points that culminated in several moves in the still-short offseason. That included the hiring of three new position coaches, along with a new defensive coordinator in Al Golden. Golden will be tasked with getting a very young and very inconsistent defensive unit to grow, and grow up fast.
However, as much as people focused on the Bengals’ defensive struggles last season (and rightfully so), the offense was not without their own faults. For example, Joe Burrow took so many hits last season that he might as well have been a WWE superstar in a tables, ladders, and chairs match thanks to an offensive line that was, well, offensive.
And that leads us to the next annual chapter of the Bengals at the Draft, a history filled with many more misses than hits. For every Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, or T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Bengals draft history is littered with names like Dan Wilkinson, Cedric Ogbuehi, Billy Price, David Klingler, William Jackson III, Akili Smith… and the list goes on. Thus, with the Bengals now in control of the No. 17 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, let’s evaluate the positions they may – and should – address in the next step in the process.
Wide Receiver
The franchise tag (maybe) buys Cincinnati some time with Tee Higgins, yes, but while Chase is still under contract, he’s due for a huge — HUGE — payday once it’s up. If that raise for Chase only delays Higgins’ departure by a year, that leaves Andrei Iosivas, Isaiah Williams, Charlie Jones, and Jermaine Burton as the next names in line developing behind their dynamic duo.
Even for 2025, pass-catchers are a concern. With Mike Gesicki possibly gone and Erick All already out for the season, that leaves their tight end room with Tanner Hudson, Tanner McLachlan, and Cam Grandy to battle it out for playing time.
That is far from a murderer’s row of options. Iosivas is by far the best of the remaining options, but has yet to show that he’s capable of becoming a solid No. 2 opposite Chase. To avoid defenses keying on Chase and Higgins, the Bengals need to add to their receiving corps and fast — with fast being the key word.
A rookie wideout in the first round can be a worthy choice for the Bengals in 2025, much like Xavier Worthy for the Kansas City Chiefs, who proved just how much speed can kill during his 2024 rookie campaign. With Malik Nabers, Marvin Harrison, Jr., and Rome Odunze also showing their mettle as first-round picks in 2024, the Bengals need to find their Chase 2.0: A rookie pass catcher with tremendous potential, and the team-friendly rookie contract to boot.
Linebacker
We could have easily put “defensive line” here, but it’s hard to know whether or not the front office knows that position exists, as they haven’t had a legit defensive line since Y2K. So here we are at linebacker.
Germaine Pratt, the Bengals 2024 leading tackler, wants out of Cincinnati — and the team would be wise to honor his request heading into the 2025 season. Outside of a late-season forced fumble recovery in the team’s crushing 26-25 loss at Kansas City, Pratt’s stats are a very misleading representation of his season. What you don’t see in the box score was how many plays where he was out of position, or had the opposition blow past him big yards. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Pratt had 20 missed tackles in 2024 — although he’d never admit it.
The Bengals have had two (yes, two) Pro Bowl linebackers in the last 20 years: Takeo Spikes and Vontaze “Penalty Flag” Burfict. If they are to seriously compete in the AFC North and beyond, a linebacker with a first-round pedigree is sorely needed. If they do draft one in the first round, however, he would be well-advised to keep his head on a swivel…
Cornerback
I defended Cam Taylor-Britt voraciously last season and I still believe he is the best defender in the Bengals secondary. That being said, he was also the epitome of a boom-or-bust player. For as soon as he can dazzling interception, he was just as likely to say or do something to land himself in his former coordinator’s doghouse.
Despite being solid last season, Mike Hilton isn’t getting any younger, Dax Hill has yet to prove he’s worthy of his first-round draft pick status, Geno Stone looked nothing like the 2023 interception leader, and Jordan Battle just looked lost for most of 2024. Josh Newton, currently listed as a starter on the Bengals’ depth chart, showed flashes late in the year, but is far from proven. With so many questions, the Bengals need answers in the secondary. Of course, Colorado’s Travis Hunter will be long gone by the time the Bengals pick at No. 17… But hey, maybe they’ll make a deal to shake up the NFL landscape.
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