Welcome Demetrius Knight

[*Synric*]

(05-03-2025, 01:20 AM)sandwedge Wrote: Is that a fact, that we didn't try to trade down?

Picks 48 & 51 were traded. The #48 picks makes you wonder if Arieontae Ersery was above Knight on the Bengals board.

[Soonerpeace]

PFF #53 Big Board

REVIEW
Knight will be one of the oldest prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he is a mature player with good processing and fundamentally sound tackling. His run-defense angles can be a bit overaggressive, but you'll take that trade-off due to how well he moves in coverage and when pursuing ball carriers.
SHADES OF
Bobby Okereke
PROS
Adequate size for off-ball LB work
Loves the physical aspect of playing LB
Competitive toughness will never be in question
Long arms to stack and shed
Strong tackler with a low missed tackle percentages
Fast processor
Very good athlete for the position — explosive first step, great top speed and a natural lateral mover
Fast hands give him some decent pass rush potential as a blitzer
CONS
All-out play style yields overaggressive angles to the ball
Will be one of the oldest prospects in the class

[Clark W Griswold]

(05-03-2025, 08:40 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: PFF #53 Big Board

REVIEW
Knight will be one of the oldest prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he is a mature player with good processing and fundamentally sound tackling. His run-defense angles can be a bit overaggressive, but you'll take that trade-off due to how well he moves in coverage and when pursuing ball carriers.
SHADES OF
Bobby Okereke
PROS
Adequate size for off-ball LB work
Loves the physical aspect of playing LB
Competitive toughness will never be in question
Long arms to stack and shed
Strong tackler with a low missed tackle percentages
Fast processor
Very good athlete for the position — explosive first step, great top speed and a natural lateral mover
Fast hands give him some decent pass rush potential as a blitzer
CONS
All-out play style yields overaggressive angles to the ball
Will be one of the oldest prospects in the class

When you look at it that way his cons are not bad. We all know about the age but we will worry about that in 5 years.

Overly aggressive is always better than not aggressive enough. They can work on his angles but his strengths are very positive. That arm length will hopefully lead to some passes to the TE being knocked down.

[Joelist]

Remember Golden has a system he is installing and Knight was his choice.

[Soonerpeace]

(05-03-2025, 12:57 PM)Joelist Wrote: Remember Golden has a system he is installing and Knight was his choice.

Just spitballing but Lou ran his defense through the safeties. Al will run his through the linebackers. Not sure Lou was as successful w/o Bates & Bell

[Housh]

(05-03-2025, 12:57 PM)Joelist Wrote: Remember Golden has a system he is installing and Knight was his choice.

And the last time our linebacking core was great was with Golden so he’s earned the chance to build his own team

[Luvnit2]

(Yesterday, 11:24 PM)Housh Wrote: And the last time our linebacking core was great was with Golden so he’s earned the chance to build his own team

Knight may be old, but he ran the tie for 6th fastest 40 @4.58, The 3rd fastest was Campbell @4.53.

I have had a chance to watch some tape. He plays fast. I think Pratt ran the samt time as Knight, but did not seem as fast the last couple of years.

I thought we woulc cut or trade (hard to do with his salary) him, but maybe we should keep him and work as his tackling. Then maybe if we lose him in 2026, we get a decent compensatory pick for him. We have a lot of guys on 1 year or last year of their contract so we may a lot of guys in 2026, if so why not try and get 2027 extra picks.

[THE PISTONS]

So many of our even 1st Round picks sit their 1st year be it from injury or just behind a vet.

Our 2nd and 3rd Round picks generally take a couple years to play. So they're 24/25 before they contribute.

So IF he can come in Day 1 and play, we're kind of ahead of the game.

[THE PISTONS]

(Today, 12:40 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Knight may be old, but he ran the tie for 6th fastest 40 @4.58, The 3rd fastest was Campbell @4.53.

I have had a chance to watch some tape. He plays fast. I think Pratt ran the samt time as Knight, but did not seem as fast the last couple of years.

I thought we woulc cut or trade (hard to do with his salary) him, but maybe we should keep him and work as his tackling. Then maybe if we lose him in 2026, we get a decent compensatory pick for him. We have a lot of guys on 1 year or last year of their contract so we may a lot of guys in 2026, if so why not try and get 2027 extra picks.

At this point, I think that's the best strategy. Plus, need to see if our new LB's can start.

I wonder how much of Pratt and Wilson's 'demise' has been having bad DT's in front of them. When Rankins got hurt, we started some guys off the street that weren't probably NFL caliber.

[Soonerpeace]

Knight was PFF’s favorite draft pick.
CINCINNATI BENGALS: LB DEMETRIUS KNIGHT JR. (ROUND 2, PICK 47)

When the Bengals defense was at its best — in the team's 2021 season — it had top-tier linebacker play. The unit lacked playmakers around middle linebacker Logan Wilson heading into the draft, and that's where Knight fills a big hole. He can use his speed as an ideal weakside linebacker next to Wilson.