Even though the Bengals have spent the fifth-most in free agency this off-season, a great deal of that money was spent in-house to make sure most of their own were taken care of first. The biggest concern still pending is whether they can extend their All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. It’s this major question that will lead us to our current list of biggest draft needs for the 2025 Cincinnati Bengals.
Edge Rusher
If Hendrickson signs an extension, the team is pretty much where they were on the edges last season sans Sam Hubbard. And that means they still need to find more help. Joseph Ossai was re-signed but only has 9 ½ career sacks in 47 games. At least he’s just 25 and will have a new coach (defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery) and coordinator (Al Golden) who might be able to tax more out of him than the previous coaches did. 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy needs to take a big step forward as well.
Offensive Line
Believe it or not, guard Lucas Patrick might be the team’s most important signing thus far from outside the organization. The Bengals fielded a pair of the least productive guard tandems in the league the past few seasons and something needed to change. Patrick brings a ton of experience with 64 starts in eight seasons including 58 over the last five. But this is his fourth team in five seasons for a reason. Maybe the move to the AFC for the first time will help. In reality, Patrick basically replaces Alex Cappa, so there is still major room for improvement at both guard spots. And if they want to take two interior linemen in this month’s draft it wouldn’t be a surprise either. I mean the organization has gone out of their way to please Joe Burrow and rightly so. Now they need to keep going down this path by making sure he’s protected.
Secondary
The Bengals secondary has failed them lately and on top of that they have two key cornerbacks rehabbing from serious season-ending injuries. But Dax Hill and DJ Turner looked much improved until they went down, and rookie Josh Newton showed promise. Still, with fellow corner Cam Taylor-Britt looking lost for half the season until the scheme was dumbed-down is not a reason for optimism, especially as nickel back Mike Hilton remains unsigned. And that goes the same for the safety tandem of Jordan Battle and Geno Stone. The defense needs one more defensive back for each spot with the safety role looking like the most important one to fill early.
Depth
When they draft later on day three, the team can look to add depth at several spots including on both lines of scrimmage. More offensive line help at tackle would be nice as long as they take care of business inside first. The defensive line can also use one more tackle prospect to compete with last year’s two rookies. Adding another linebacker is also important if anything were to happen to either Germaine Pratt or Logan Wilson. The Oren Burks signing only replaces Akeem Davis-Gaither and will mostly be a help on special teams. Adding a young prospect with future starting potential would be a nice addition. And even though the team is set with their starting three receivers, the off-the-field problems with Jermaine Burton and the injury history with Charlie Jones should give the team concern if they need to call upon their bench for any long-term reason, especially since they run a ton of 11 personnel.
