{"id":21738,"date":"2025-05-03T23:15:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T23:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/21738\/"},"modified":"2025-05-03T23:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T23:15:14","slug":"cincinnati-bengals-roster-and-depth-chart-entering-2025-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/21738\/","title":{"rendered":"Cincinnati Bengals roster and depth chart entering 2025 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL Draft<\/a> is behind us, and the Bengals welcomed several new players into the fold over draft weekend.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at the roster and projected depth chart post-draft. An asterisk denotes a starter (for now), and anyone under the \u2014 is on the bubble or at risk of being cut\/added to the practice squad.<\/p>\n

Bengals QB depth chart:<\/p>\n

Joe Burrow*
\nJake Browning
\nLogan Woodside
\nPayton Thorne (UDFA, Auburn)<\/p>\n

Notes: <\/p>\n

None<\/p>\n

RB:<\/p>\n

Chase Brown*
\nZack Moss
\nSamaje Perine
\nTahj Brooks (Round 6, pick 193 overall, Texas Tech)
\nKendall Milton
\nGary Brightwell<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

Brown is going to be the offense\u2019s primary running back, and I expect Perine to return as a third-down\/passing-down back while Moss will give breathers here and there. This is a deep running back class, and the Bengals got great value with Tahj Brooks in the sixth round. <\/p>\n

WR:<\/p>\n

Ja\u2019Marr Chase*
\nTee Higgins*
\nAndrei Iosivas*
\nCharlie Jones
\nJermaine Burton
\nKendrick Pryor
\nCole Burgess
\nMitchell Tinsley
\nIsaiah Williams
\nJordan Moore (UDFA, Duke)
\nRashod Owens (UDFA, Oklahoma State)
\nJamoi Mayes (UDFA, Cincinnati)<\/p>\n

Bet on the NFL Draft and other sporting events at FanDuel Sportsbook.<\/a><\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

The Bengals have the best wide receiver duo, Chase and Higgins, in the NFL locked up for the foreseeable future. Behind them, though, it\u2019s a little bit of a guessing game. Iosivas has a leg up on everyone as he\u2019s had the most on-field success, but he hasn\u2019t quite solidified himself as the team\u2019s WR3. Jones has had injury issues, and Burton has had off-field issues. The Bengals passed on the position during the draft but did add three prospects who went undrafted. <\/p>\n

TE:<\/p>\n

Mike Gesicki*
\nDrew Sample*
\nTanner Hudson
\nTanner McLachlan
\nKole Taylor (UDFA, WVU)
\nCam Grandy
\n(INJURED) Erick All Jr.<\/p>\n

Notes: <\/p>\n

Gesicki is technically TE1, but he functions more like WR3. He\u2019s not on the team because he can block. He\u2019s on the team because he\u2019s the best receiving tight end Burrow has worked with so far, and when Higgins or Chase is out, he\u2019s the second most reliable receiver on the field. Sample is more of a blocker than a pass catcher (though a Sample TD is a sight to behold), and Hudson has had success as well. <\/p>\n

McLachlan is an unknown, as is Grandy. All is, unfortunately, likely to miss the entire season due to complications from a knee injury that cost him most of the \u201824 season. The Bengals also passed on tight ends entirely in the draft, focusing on defense and the offensive line, but added Kole Taylor as an UDFA. <\/p>\n

OL:<\/p>\n

Orlando Brown Jr.*
\nCordell Volson*
\nTed Karras*
\nCody Ford*
\nAmarius Mims*
\nLucas Patrick
\nJaxson Kirkland
\nMatt Lee
\nDevin Cochran
\nDylan Fair (Round 3, 81st overall, UGA)
\nJalen Rivers (Round 5, 153rd overall, Miami)
\nAndrew Coker
\nAndrew Stueber
\nTashawn Manning<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

The Bengals re-signed Ford and brought in Patrick this offseason, but they have hardly done \u201cenough.\u201d Joe Burrow, despite the MVP-caliber season in 2024, is constantly being harassed in the pocket and is often running for his life. Most of the trouble came from the guard position last year. As of now, the guard position would be some sort of combination of Volson, Ford, and Patrick. <\/p>\n

It was clearly a priority for Cincinnati, who brought in two OL in the draft and two UDFA prospects in Ohio State\u2019s Seth McLaughlin and BYU\u2019s Caleb Etienne.<\/p>\n

DL:<\/p>\n

Trey Hendrickson* (hopefully)
\nBJ Hill*
\nTJ Slaton*
\nJoseph Ossai*
\nShemar Stewart (Round 1, 17th overall, EDGE, Texas A&M)
\nMyles Murphy
\nKris Jenkins
\nMcKinnley Jackson
\nCedric Johnson
\nCam Sample
\nIsaiah Thomas
\nRaymond Johnson III<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

The Bengals\u2019 defense was a massive letdown in 2024 and resulted in a top-tier offense missing the playoffs, a 9-8 record, and Lou Anarumo\u2019s firing. The Bengals signed NT Slaton, who excels as a run defender, as well as brought back Ossai, who finished the 2024 season with five sacks over the last seven games. Don\u2019t forget about second-year tackles Jenkins and Jackson, who will hopefully take the next step, as well as former first-round pick Murphy, who needs to establish himself. <\/p>\n

The Bengals could use an interior pass rusher, something they haven\u2019t had consistently since Geno Atkins\u2019 departure. They also need more help at edge, especially if the Bengals do trade Hendrickson or if he decides he doesn\u2019t want to play under his current contract if the two sides can\u2019t come to some sort of agreement.<\/p>\n

The Bengals addressed the d-line in the first round and also added two undrafted defensive tackles, Howard Cross (Notre Dame) and Eric Gregory (Arkansas). <\/p>\n

LB:<\/p>\n

Logan Wilson*
\nGermaine Pratt* (requested trade)
\nOren Burks
\nMaema Njongmeta
\nShaka Heyward
\nDemetrius Knight (Round 2, 49th overall, South Carolina)
\nDylan Barrett Carter (Round 4, 119th overall, Clemson)
\nJoe Giles-Harris
\nCraig Young<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

The only thing for certain at linebacker is Wilson will start. Pratt has requested a trade, and things don\u2019t really seem like the two sides are going to be able to mend fences. They signed Burks, but Burks may be more of a replacement for ADG, who left in free agency, than Pratt. The Bengals did address the position during the draft, with two linebackers selected. <\/p>\n

CB:<\/p>\n

Cam Taylor-Britt*
\nDJ Turner*
\nDax Hill*
\nJalen Davis
\nJosh Newton
\nDJ Ivey
\nMarco Wilson
\nMicah Abraham
\nNate Brooks
\nLance Robinson
\nBralyn Lux (UDFA, CB, Texas Tech)<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

The secondary struggled in 2024. CTB took a step back, and Turner and Hill both suffered season-ending injuries. The Bengals have officially lost Mike Hilton, but Hill could possibly step into that role, though the current plan is for the latter to stay on the boundary. <\/p>\n

Davis has been Hilton\u2019s long-time slot backup, and Newton, Ivey, and Wilson have shown promise. The plan is for Newton to move into the slot for next season.<\/p>\n

The Bengals\u2019 focus was elsewhere during the draft, but they did add one UDFA cornerback in Texas Tech\u2019s Bralyn Lux. <\/p>\n

S:<\/p>\n

Geno Stone*
\nJordan Battle*
\nTycen Anderson
\nDaijahn Anthony
\nJaylen Key
\nPJ Jules
\nShaquan Loyal (UDFA, S, Rutgers)<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

The safety position has been a mess since the team allowed Jessie Bates III to leave for Atlanta in free agency. They drafted Hill to be his heir before the 2021 season, but Hill\u2019s move to cornerback gives you a pretty clear picture of how that has worked out. They went from Nick Scott to Geno Stone, but so far, they\u2019ve gotten mixed results. <\/p>\n

The Bengals also did not take a safety in the draft, but did add Rutgers\u2019 Shaquan Loyal as an undrafted free agent. <\/p>\n

ST:<\/p>\n

P: Ryan Rehkow*
\nK: Evan McPherson*
\nLS: Cal Adomitis*
\nLS: William Wagner (UDFA, Michigan)<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

None<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where things stand. Do you think the Bengals need to make more moves before the preseason gets under way? Let us know in the comments! <\/p>\n

And Who DEY!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL Draft is behind us, and the Bengals welcomed several new players into the fold over draft…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2053],"tags":[357,228,3742,227,256,10212,1562,6977,2296,1559,3741,19,10211,1563,2482,7,29,1560,6,1647],"class_list":{"0":"post-21738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-bengals","8":"tag-and","9":"tag-bengals","10":"tag-chart","11":"tag-cincinnati","12":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","13":"tag-cincinnati-bengals-depth-chart","14":"tag-cincinnati-bengals-nfl-draft","15":"tag-cincinnati-bengals-roster","16":"tag-cincinnatibengals","17":"tag-cincy","18":"tag-depth","19":"tag-draft","20":"tag-entering","21":"tag-exclude-from-stn-video","22":"tag-fanduel","23":"tag-football","24":"tag-front-page","25":"tag-jungle","26":"tag-nfl","27":"tag-roster"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114446449282238415","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}