Cincinnati Bengals Rookie Forecast 2025

Bengals Rookie Forecast 2025

Solid Starter

Demetrius Knight Jt., LB, South Carolina – Round 2

The Bengals’ defense looks poised to have changes coming to their starting linebackers, and Cincinnati started the process of grooming a new starter when they selected Knight in the second round. Veteran starter Germaine Pratt has requested a trade, and Logan Wilson is another veteran who could be moved on from to get younger and cheaper in the middle of the defense.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Knight had an impressive week of practice at the Senior Bowl and had a strong showing in other pre-draft workouts. In 2024, Knight had 82 tackles with two sacks and one pass broken up. Knight played at Charlotte before moving on to South Carolina. In 2023, he had 96 tackles with 1.5 sacks, three interceptions, and four passes defended. Knight is a strong, physical run defender in the tackle box with good instincts. He also showed potential to run and cover with the ability to grow into a three-down starter in the NFL.

Knight might sit for a year behind some of the Bengals’ veteran linebackers, but come 2026, he definitely has the skill set to be an effective starter. After getting some coaching and development, I think Knight could turn into a solid starter in Cincinnati.

2024: Amarius Mims, OT
2023: Jordan Battle, S
2022: Zachary Carter, DE
2021: Jackson Carman, G
2020: Tee Higgins, WR
2019: Jonah Williams, OT
2018: Sam Hubbard, DE
2017: John Ross, WR
2016: William Jackson, CB
2015: Paul Dawson, LB
2014: Darqueze Dennard, CB
2013: Tyler Eifert, TE

Most Likely To Bust

Dylan Fairchild, G, Georgia – Round 3

A year ago, Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims was one of my favorite players in the draft, and I think he could end up becoming a dominant edge blocker in the NFL. It will be interesting to see if Mims can play up to his potential, and if that can rub off on Fairchild as well. I felt that Fairchild flashed in college, but was not as dominant as he had the potential to be. Fairchild could stand to get stronger to pack more power as a run defender. I think he has quality quickness and athleticism for an interior blocker, but I think he needs development for the NFL. As a third-round pick, he is a backup-to-starter, and of the Bengals’ early-round picks, he could be the one that falls short of that projection.

2024: McKinnley Jackson, DT
2023: D.J. Turner, CB
2022: Cam Taylor-Britt, CB
2021: Joseph Ossai, LB
2020: Logan Wilson, LB
2019: Drew Sample, TE
2018: Malik Jefferson, LB
2017: Carl Lawson, LB
2016: Nick Vigil, LB
2015: Tyler Kroft, TE
2014: Russell Bodine, C
2013: Shawn Williams, S

Potential Boom Pick

Shemar Stewart, DE, Texas A&M – Round 2

The Bengals have mismanaged their contract extensions over the past couple of seasons. If they had signed Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins a year earlier, they probably would have saved around $10 million per year. Detroit, for example, signed Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, and Jared Goff a year earlier, and already those contracts look like massive savings. Cincinnati boxed themselves into a difficult situation, and one of the problems they have is Trey Hendrickson wanting to be paid like the elite pass rusher that he is. Even if Hendrickson ultimately does sign an extension, the Bengals need more edge rush across from him. Former first-rounder Myles Murphy has yet to break out, so Cincinnati added another rusher in a very gifted player in Stewart.

For the NFL, Stewart is a project that has a ton of upside and potential. As a pass rusher, Stewart is quick off the ball with impressive first-step quickness. Stewart has serious speed to fire upfield and a real burst to close. He has the speed to turn the corner and is able to run past offensive tackles with speed rushes. Stewart also has a powerful bull rush and speed-to-power ability to go through offensive linemen to get penetration into the pocket.

As a run defender, Stewart has size and strength at the point of attack. He can hold his gap and stand-up blockers when runs are coming downhill straight at him. Stewart profiles as a potential power base end in a 4-3 defense that can help to limit rushing offenses.

While there is no doubt that Stewart is a physical freak with an excellent combination of height, weight, and speed, Stewart was an underachiever in college, as he is a better athlete than a football player. Stewart lacks instincts as a player, has vision issues, and has struggled to finish some plays. All of those issues are seen in his career sack total of 4.5. With his speed, strength, and size, Stewart should have had some big seasons and multi-sack games in his career. Instead, he had zero big seasons of production despite being more talented than the players he was going against. Stewart is going to need to learn pass-rushing moves for the NFL, as he will not be able to win alone by being strong and fast.

Stewart was an underachiever for the Aggies and never produced up to his skill set. Thus, he is a very raw project entering the NFL. It might take him a year or two of development, and his pro coaching staff is going to need patience. Stewart also is going to have to be very dedicated and work hard to play up to his ability.

The Bengals believe in Stewart’s ability to play up to his potential, and if he does, he will be a real boom pick for Cincinnati.

2024: Kris Jenkins, DT
2023: Myles Murphy, DE
2022: Daxton Hill, CB/S
2021: Ja’Marr Chase, WR
2020: Joe Burrow, QB
2019: Germaine Pratt, LB
2018: Billy Price, C
2017: Joe Mixon, RB
2016: Tyler Boyd, WR
2015: Cedric Ogbuehi, OT
2014: Jeremy Hill, RB
2013: Giovani Bernard, RB

Future Depth Player

Barrett Carter, LB, Clemson – Round 4

The Bengals doubled up at the linebacker position with Carter in the fourth round. Carter was a mixed player at Clemson. In pass coverage, Carter is a skilled zone coverage linebacker who does a good job of covering the flat. He shows athleticism in space and is adept at tracking down receivers to make tackles in the open field. Carter moves well in zone coverage and also shows some ability to cover tight ends or backs in man coverage. In the ground game, Carter has room for improvement in the NFL. Carter is not physical, and he will need to work on taking on and shedding blocks. As a run defender, Carter was better in pursuit, tracking down backs to make tackles. Carter has issues defending the inside run, as he can get bounced around and dominated by blockers. There are some ugly plays of him getting destroyed as a run defender. Thus, I think Carter will be more of a rotational backup that can help in coverage, but is too limited as a run defender to be a three-down starter. Carter could be a quality backup and rotational linebacker who also contributes on special teams.

2024: Jermaine Burton, WR
2023: Charlie Jones, WR
2022: Cordell Volson, G
2021: Tyler Shelvin, DT
2020: Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB
2019: Ryan Finley, QB
2018: Mark Walton, RB
2017: Ryan Glasgow, DT
2016: Andrew Billings, DT
2015: Josh Shaw, CB
2014: A.J. McCarron, QB
2013: Margus Hunt, DE