The Cincinnati Bengals salvaged their draft on Day 3

AtoZ Sports

John Sheeran discusses how the Cincinnati Bengals started shaky, but finished strong in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Transcript

00:00That is a wrap on the 2025 NFL Draft where the Cincinnati Bengals added six new rookies to the

00:04roster and in this video I'll explain how the draft got better and better for the Bengals as

00:08the rounds went on. Hi again Bengals fans, John Sheeran of A to Z Sports Cincinnati here and I'll

00:16be honest with you guys, I think the draft started pretty shaky for the Bengals. I know I may be in

00:20the minority here when it comes to Shamar Stewart but I still believe that there's just as much risk

00:24with him as there is promised especially when you consider the fact that he's a top 20 pick and all

00:28the expectations that come with that but then following that pick in rounds two and three the

00:32Bengals identified dire needs on their roster and they identified two guys that can fill those needs

00:36and while doing so they also ignored the value part of the equation because I think that both

00:41linebacker Demetrius Knight and guard Dylan Fairchild are quality players. I think that they are ready

00:45to compete day one and potentially start for the Bengals but it's no secret that nobody expected

00:50Knight to go off the board in the middle of the second round and it was very clear the Bengals

00:55just wanted to draft a linebacker they felt could start in day one and then 32 picks later the

00:59Bengals pretty much did the same thing at guard with Fairchild who was expected to be a fourth round

01:03pick. The vast majority of draft picks that haven't worked out for the Bengals looked exactly like

01:07this when it feels like the team reached at least a round early to draft a player typically it ends up

01:13biting them in the butt and obviously understand that Knight and Fairchild were clear targets for

01:17the Bengals they wanted these guys on their team but they went out of their weight in order to get

01:20them and in doing so the opportunity cost of those decisions were adding even better players

01:25than maybe other positions and this is where the age-old adage comes from don't draft for immediate

01:30need because if you do you risk passing on just better players who can make your team better tomorrow

01:35instead of today and that's why picking Knight who was a consensus third round player in the second

01:39round really stands out to me because what if they just pivoted to a player with a true second round

01:43grade could they have still landed Knight in the third could they have landed Fairchild in the fourth

01:47would their team be better right now odds point to yes but it didn't happen like that the Bengals

01:51reached for needs on day two and that's fine because they let the board come to them on day

01:55three I think Barrett Carter in the fourth round was a really solid pick I think that matched up with

02:00where he was likely to be drafted even if they already drafted the linebacker in Demetrius Knight

02:03it adds depth to a room that didn't really have a lot of depth last year Carter immediately becomes

02:08a quality backup Mike linebacker to Logan Wilson who's dealt with some injuries in recent years and you

02:12don't know how his durability is going to be as he gets older and older even when you drafted Knight

02:16in the second round I think both of them can see the field in different situations and Carter has

02:20a lot of special teams abilities as well so they're going to get value there too then in the fifth round

02:24again another really good value pick in Miami offensive lineman Jalen Rivers the Bengals need

02:29for a backup swing tackle to develop behind Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Nims I think really flew under

02:33the radar as one of their more glaring roster holes and I think Rivers can fill that hole immediately

02:38but Rivers is also extremely versatile he played both left tackle and left guard in the same games last

02:42year like that's extremely rare and then finally in the sixth round they found running back

02:46Todd Brooks out of Texas Tech who was expected to be drafted there and that's typically when you

02:50should draft back or running backs anyways but another guy who just really looks the part on

02:53tape he led all running backs in 2023 and forced missed tackles according to pro football focus plus

02:58he's really experienced in both pass protection and running out of the shotgun so he's an automatic

03:01scheme fit for this offense I think all three of those picks do a really good job of salvaging the

03:06overall quality of this draft class for Cincinnati and honestly looking back at these last three

03:10drafts going back to 2023 they've done a really good job of identifying useful players

03:14on day three of the draft you're talking about the likes of Chase Brown Andre Yosavosh Eric all once

03:19he's back and healthy Matt Lee and then you add Carter Rivers and Brooks to that group that's

03:23pretty solid so do I think the Bengals got better in multiple areas of the roster yes do I think their

03:28process in terms of getting there is also a little bit shaky also yes but as always I want to hear what

03:33you guys have to say what do you think about the Bengals 2025 draft class were there picks that you

03:37loved were there picks that you hated let me know down in the comments below

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