Assuming the Bengals re-sign/franchise Tee Higgins

Round 1 
Kenneth Grant DT Michigan
6'3" 339lbs

Our new defensive coordinator receives a gift in the form of the mammoth Kenneth Grant. Giving us the lane clogging presence that we've lacked since DJ Readers departure while offering a bit of pass rushing ability. Grant is drawing some Dexter Lawrence comps.

Round 2
Jared Ivey DE Ole Miss
6'6" 295lbs

The Bengals return to the Dline well selecting a well rounded prospect in Jared Ivey with great pro potential. Ivey would see immediate playing time and could provide an upgrade over the underwhelming Myles Murphy. 

Round 3
Luke Kandra OG Cincinnati
6' 4" 323lbs

The Bengals desperately need an upgrade on the interior Oline. Luckily they have a great prospect sitting in their own backyard. Kandra is a prospect who will rise throughout the draft process. 

Round 4
Andrew Mukuba S Texas 
6'0" 190lbs

Wishful thinking here in the 4th? Probably. It's hard to watch a Texas game and not notice Mukuba. Great instincts and a physical play style that could really help the secondary. 

Round 5
Rylie Mills DL Notre Dame 
6'5" 295lbs

The Bengals take another shot at improving the pass rush and bolster the Dline with a versatile defensive lineman who gives me some Zach Allen vibes. 

Round 6
Tahj Brooks RB Texas Tech
5'10" 230lbs

With Herbert being a Free Agent and possibly moving on from Zack Moss, the Bengals will need to add a RB behind Chase Brown. Brooks is a large running back who can help with gaining yardage up the middle. 

Like your draft with the exception of Kylie Mills. Partially because Ivey is a classic tweener who lined up inside on 3rd downs on the amazing Ole Miss DLine ,which would give you 3 interior DL after 2 last year. Kandra and Mukuba should probably flip rounds. Mukuba is really good; he's another S/CB hybrid (so is Barron), but he should run in the 4.3s which we need. Brooks is a very patient runner who is not only willing but a competent chipper and blocker; good enough that I believe he could play fullback if needed.
Sub out Mills for LBs Higgins, Mondon or other depth need.

As much as I would love Tylar Warren in our offense if available, we need to fix the trenches. I like Grant. If a guard with a first-round grade was available in round 2, I think we should go that route.

It will be interesting to see how the big board moves after pro days and the combine.

It's incredibly early, but Kenneth Grant is my early favorite for who will be featured at the top of my mock drafts for the next 4 months a haha.

That is, unless he has a great (or horrible) off season and drifts out of our draft range.

(01-07-2025, 11:13 AM)CJD Wrote: It's incredibly early, but Kenneth Grant is my early favorite for who will be featured at the top of my mock drafts for the next 4 months a haha.

That is, unless he has a great (or horrible) off season and drifts out of our draft range.

I'm more of a Walter Nolen fan, personally, but I want a more proven pass rushing DT.

I know Grant's potential, but I'm concerned some with never having 4.0 or more sacks in a season, especially with the other talent that's on that DL/defense to help draw attention away.

Grant has 6.5 sacks across 41 games (only 3.0 this year) whereas Nolen has 11.5 sacks across 35 games (6.5 of which came this season).

I'd be cool with Grant too, but I like Nolen better.

(01-07-2025, 11:59 AM)ochocincos Wrote: I'm more of a Walter Nolen fan, personally, but I want a more proven pass rushing DT.

I know Grant's potential, but I'm concerned some with never having 4.0 or more sacks in a season, especially with the other talent that's on that DL/defense to help draw attention away.

Grant has 6.5 sacks across 41 games (only 3.0 this year) whereas Nolen has 11.5 sacks across 35 games (6.5 of which came this season).

I'd be cool with Grant too, but I like Nolen better.

Nolen is a 3 tech and Grant is a NT, so not really apples to apples, though.  Also, gotta keep in mind Grant plays nearly 20 more snaps a game, on average, and plays at nearly 50 pounds heavier. 

(01-07-2025, 11:13 AM)CJD Wrote: It's incredibly early, but Kenneth Grant is my early favorite for who will be featured at the top of my mock drafts for the next 4 months a haha.

That is, unless he has a great (or horrible) off season and drifts out of our draft range.

If the goal is to stop the bleeding on rushing defense and have a man that will command a double team every snap, Grant is truly that guy.

(01-06-2025, 05:29 PM)puddycat Wrote: Like your draft with the exception of Kylie Mills.  Partially because Ivey is a classic tweener who lined up inside on 3rd downs on the amazing Ole Miss DLine ,which would give you 3 interior DL after 2 last year.  Kandra and Mukuba should probably flip rounds.  Mukuba is really good; he's another S/CB hybrid (so is Barron), but he should run in the 4.3s which we need.  Brooks is a very patient runner who is not only willing but a competent chipper and blocker; good enough that I believe he could play fullback if needed.
Sub out Mills for LBs Higgins, Mondon or other depth need.

That's what I was thinking. Most every Sim that I run has Kandra available in the 4th and sometimes 5th round. All of the better Safeties will be dried up by then.

(01-07-2025, 11:59 AM)ochocincos Wrote: I'm more of a Walter Nolen fan, personally, but I want a more proven pass rushing DT.

I know Grant's potential, but I'm concerned some with never having 4.0 or more sacks in a season, especially with the other talent that's on that DL/defense to help draw attention away.

Grant has 6.5 sacks across 41 games (only 3.0 this year) whereas Nolen has 11.5 sacks across 35 games (6.5 of which came this season).

I'd be cool with Grant too, but I like Nolen better.

Yea, Nolen is great too. It's just a different position. NT vs 3T. Whether they prioritize a guy like Nolen or a guy like Grant will depend entirely on how they view the two DTs they drafted this past off season.

Jackson has the size of a NT, but do they think he can hold up in the run game?

Do they think Jenkins can turn into a dominant pass rusher from the DT position (if they didn't, I don't know why they would draft him, but we had that discussion last off season haha).

I think our defense missed Reader's presence immensely in the run game, as safeties spent a lot more time in the box this year (or, at least, they appeared to), so I'm leaning towards Grant.

The good news is that, while Grant wasn't a huge sack artist, he was disruptive in the passing game. He has 22 hurries this season, with the 3 sacks, 1 QB hit and 5 PD. Last season he had 15 hurries, 5 sacks, 3 QB hits and 3 PD. 

Compared to Nolen's last two seasons per PFF:
Grant:
950 snaps
8 sacks (I believe PFF doesn't penalize players for sharing a sack with teammates)
4 QB hits
37 hurries
8 PD

Nolen:
952 snaps
13 sacks
4 QB hits
33 hurries
3 PD

I think Nolen has higher potential as a pass rusher, but he isn't blowing Grant out of the water in terms of production.

(01-07-2025, 03:51 PM)CJD Wrote: Yea, Nolen is great too. It's just a different position. NT vs 3T. Whether they prioritize a guy like Nolen or a guy like Grant will depend entirely on how they view the two DTs they drafted this past off season.

Jackson has the size of a NT, but do they think he can hold up in the run game?

Do they think Jenkins can turn into a dominant pass rusher from the DT position (if they didn't, I don't know why they would draft him, but we had that discussion last off season haha).

I think our defense missed Reader's presence immensely in the run game, as safeties spent a lot more time in the box this year (or, at least, they appeared to), so I'm leaning towards Grant.

The good news is that, while Grant wasn't a huge sack artist, he was disruptive in the passing game. He has 22 hurries this season, with the 3 sacks, 1 QB hit and 5 PD. Last season he had 15 hurries, 5 sacks, 3 QB hits and 3 PD. 

Compared to Nolen's last two seasons per PFF:
Grant:
950 snaps
8 sacks (I believe PFF doesn't penalize players for sharing a sack with teammates)
4 QB hits
37 hurries
8 PD

Nolen:
952 snaps
13 sacks
4 QB hits
33 hurries
3 PD

I think Nolen has higher potential as a pass rusher, but he isn't blowing Grant out of the water in terms of production.

As far as pass rush from the NT position goes, those are head turning numbers.

(01-07-2025, 04:26 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: As far as pass rush from the NT position goes, those are head turning numbers.

I agree. I was kind of surprised by the numbers, to be honest haha. For comparison, T'Vondre Sweat, the NT a lot of people wanted last season who was considered a great pass rusher from the position, had 44 hurries, 2 sacks, 7 QB hits and 11 PDs in 967 snaps over his previous 2 seasons. 

I think Grant has great potential as a disruptive NT prospect :)

(01-07-2025, 03:51 PM)CJD Wrote: Yea, Nolen is great too. It's just a different position. NT vs 3T. Whether they prioritize a guy like Nolen or a guy like Grant will depend entirely on how they view the two DTs they drafted this past off season.

Jackson has the size of a NT, but do they think he can hold up in the run game?

Do they think Jenkins can turn into a dominant pass rusher from the DT position (if they didn't, I don't know why they would draft him, but we had that discussion last off season haha).

I think our defense missed Reader's presence immensely in the run game, as safeties spent a lot more time in the box this year (or, at least, they appeared to), so I'm leaning towards Grant.

The good news is that, while Grant wasn't a huge sack artist, he was disruptive in the passing game. He has 22 hurries this season, with the 3 sacks, 1 QB hit and 5 PD. Last season he had 15 hurries, 5 sacks, 3 QB hits and 3 PD. 

Compared to Nolen's last two seasons per PFF:
Grant:
950 snaps
8 sacks (I believe PFF doesn't penalize players for sharing a sack with teammates)
4 QB hits
37 hurries
8 PD

Nolen:
952 snaps
13 sacks
4 QB hits
33 hurries
3 PD

I think Nolen has higher potential as a pass rusher, but he isn't blowing Grant out of the water in terms of production.

Meh, I'm of the camp you don't draft a NT in 1st round unless you run a 3-4.
While they can demand double teams, they don't typically quite get there for sack production.
Pressures are ok, but a pressure vs a sack can sometimes really impact a game because they got the throw off and 1st down/TD.

(01-07-2025, 09:17 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Meh, I'm of the camp you don't draft a NT in 1st round unless you run a 3-4.
While they can demand double teams, they don't typically quite get there for sack production.
Pressures are ok, but a pressure vs a sack can sometimes really impact a game because they got the throw off and 1st down/TD.

BUT he could help make us a top 5-10 team against the run which is gonna also help others get to the QB. It goes both ways.

(01-07-2025, 09:20 PM)pulses Wrote: BUT he could help make us a top 5-10 team against the run which is gonna also help others get to the QB. It goes both ways.

Maybe, but are the Bengals going to focus a whole bunch on run stopping, or are they going to try to improve the pass rush?
Very, very rarely can you get someone who can do both.

(01-07-2025, 09:24 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Maybe, but are the Bengals going to focus a whole bunch on run stopping, or are they going to try to improve the pass rush?
Very, very rarely can you get someone who can do both.

You need to do more research on Grant's pass rush winning rates then I suppose.

He's 7th in this class with HUGE upside.

https://nfldraftbuzz.com/stats/PRD/DT/1/2025

I like Collins the DT from Texas in the 2nd as well.

(01-07-2025, 09:49 PM)pulses Wrote: You need to do more research on Grant's pass rush winning rates then I suppose.

He's 7th in this class with HUGE upside.

https://nfldraftbuzz.com/stats/PRD/DT/1/2025

You don't need to link NFLDraftBuzz I've read it.

All I'm sayin is Grant got very few sacks in his 3-year college career, and it wasn't like he was on a team where he was the only pass rusher.
In a majority of cases, a player doesn't have lower production in college and explode in the NFL.

And yes, I know and agree there's value in having a guy who can help generate pressure and command double teams.
Very Reader-esque.
With that said, without actually getting home often, I dunno if I'd invest a 1st round pick, at least not over Walter Nolen.
That's just me though.
If you like Grant more than Nolen, that's fair. I just am not currently in that boat.

I will say this though - If Kris Jenkins was always envisioned to take BJ Hill's spot, I could see Jenkins as the starting UT and a guy like Grant as starting NT with Jackson in the Tupou 2-down run stuffer backup NT role.

(Yesterday, 01:08 AM)ochocincos Wrote: You don't need to link NFLDraftBuzz I've read it.

All I'm sayin is Grant got very few sacks in his 3-year college career, and it wasn't like he was on a team where he was the only pass rusher.
In a majority of cases, a player doesn't have lower production in college and explode in the NFL.

And yes, I know and agree there's value in having a guy who can help generate pressure and command double teams.
Very Reader-esque.
With that said, without actually getting home often, I dunno if I'd invest a 1st round pick, at least not over Walter Nolen.
That's just me though.
If you like Grant more than Nolen, that's fair. I just am not currently in that boat.

I will say this though - If Kris Jenkins was always envisioned to take BJ Hill's spot, I could see Jenkins as the starting UT and a guy like Grant as starting NT with Jackson in the Tupou 2-down run stuffer backup NT role.

I think Jenkins was envisioned to take Hill's spot but until we get a new DC we won't know for sure.

(01-07-2025, 03:51 PM)CJD Wrote: Yea, Nolen is great too. It's just a different position. NT vs 3T. Whether they prioritize a guy like Nolen or a guy like Grant will depend entirely on how they view the two DTs they drafted this past off season.

Jackson has the size of a NT, but do they think he can hold up in the run game?

Do they think Jenkins can turn into a dominant pass rusher from the DT position (if they didn't, I don't know why they would draft him, but we had that discussion last off season haha).

I think our defense missed Reader's presence immensely in the run game, as safeties spent a lot more time in the box this year (or, at least, they appeared to), so I'm leaning towards Grant.

The good news is that, while Grant wasn't a huge sack artist, he was disruptive in the passing game. He has 22 hurries this season, with the 3 sacks, 1 QB hit and 5 PD. Last season he had 15 hurries, 5 sacks, 3 QB hits and 3 PD. 

Compared to Nolen's last two seasons per PFF:
Grant:
950 snaps
8 sacks (I believe PFF doesn't penalize players for sharing a sack with teammates)
4 QB hits
37 hurries
8 PD

Nolen:
952 snaps
13 sacks
4 QB hits
33 hurries
3 PD

I think Nolen has higher potential as a pass rusher, but he isn't blowing Grant out of the water in terms of production.

You forgot TFLs and run stops which Nolen has about double Grant.

Also if you are talking about NFL projection Nolen's 2024 season as productive this year as both of Grant's season's at NT combined. It depends on if you believe there was growth in Nolen's game from 2023 to 2024.


I'm good with either Kenneth Grant or Walter Nolen to begin a DL build around.


Edit: Walter Nolen is going to be at the Senior Bowl!

Luke Kandra is a Cincy native that started his career at Louisville before transferring back to Cincinnati. He has alot of experience and clamps for hands but he is low cut so while he has good balance he's always gonna play a bit tall inside. Good core strength and those hands make up for it some.