With just over three weeks to go until the 2025 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals have clear, unaddressed, gaping needs on the roster. the team didn’t make a splash in free agency to fix the defense and signed a nose tackle and linebacker. On offense, the Bengals re-signed both star receivers and added a should-be backup guard and Samaje Perine. At this point, the 2025 Bengals are the same but more expensive than the 2024 Bengals. With only six picks in this year’s draft, the team absolutely has to nail as many picks as possible.
At this point in the process, the jury is still very much out on what the Bengals will or should do at 17th overall. NFLMockDraftDatabase has Walter Nolen as the most popular pick with just under 11%. That’s not much of a consensus. The board is wide open.
Bengals Reach to Address Needs in Latest ESPN Mock Draft
ESPN‘s Field Yates recently published a two-round mock draft and has the Bengals taking a swing early.
Round 1. Pick 17: Grey Zabel
“While it is no mystery that the Bengals must attack defense in this draft, there’s one notable offensive position that is still a big problem: guard. Consider that 64 guards qualified in pass block win rate last season, and Cordell Volson and Alex Cappa — the Bengals’ two starters — were 61st and 64th, respectively. (Cappa was released.)
Zabel has had an outstanding pre-draft process. He was the best player I saw at Senior Bowl practices, proving he can dominate against top competition after starting 41 games at the FCS level. Plus, teams believe he has the positional versatility to play guard or center in the NFL, and he is always in control as a pass protector.”
Taking a guard at 17 is not out of the realm of possibilities. Will Campbell and Kelvin Banks were already taken in this scenario while the next five picks were Matthew Golden, Malaki Starks, Omarion Hampton, Jaxson Dart, and Colston Loveland. The next guard that was taken was Donovan Jackson at 25th overall.
Grey Zabel is a good player and he had a great Senior Bowl workout. However, the pick would be breaking all kinds of norms for the team. The Bengals have drafted one guard in the first round and it was Kevin Zeitler. It would also be the third time in franchise history that they used a first-round pick on a non-FBS/Division I-A player and the first since Bill Kollar in 1974 from Montana State. Additionally, the Bengals have only picked two non-Power 4/Power 5/BCS AQ players since 1987 in the first round.
This could be viewed as a bit of a reach. Zabel may have had a good Senior Bowl but is he ready to come in and start right away? The Bengals need a solution at guard (ideally, they need two solutions, but one problem at a time). If the team views him as a day-one starter, fine. It’s just a little surprising that they’d pass on guys from Ohio State and Alabama first.
Round 2, Pick 49: Azareye’h Thomas
“After we addressed their offensive line in Round 1, the Bengals could now get to work on the defense. Thomas would bring excellent 6-foot-2 size and ball skills to their cornerback room, though he lacks superb top-end speed (scouts I spoke with had him in the high 4.5s in the 40 at his pro day).”
The Bengals will likely add to the cornerback room in this draft with the futures of Dax Hill and Cam Taylor-Britt head toward the ends of their respective deals. Hill converted to corner last year after two years in limbo as a safety and beat out DJ Turner as CB2. Then, Hill suffered a season-ending injury. Then, a few games later, Turner was lost due to a season-ending injury. Meanwhile, Taylor-Britt has a Pro Bowl ceiling while also having a “oh, they’re picking on him again” floor.
Azareye’h Thomas would be a solid addition and would add to the depth at the very least. He was another Senior Bowl standout after three years at Florida State. He’s not a burner quite like Turner but he makes up for it in just about every other way. He’s long, a solid tackler, and has great football instincts. With Taylor-Britt, Hill, and Turner already on the roster, he can sit and learn. Injuries happen and he’ll get his shot.
Going corner in the second round is not outlandish but the next five picks in the mock were Shavon Revel Jr., Elijah Arroyo, Jared Wilson, Benjamin Morrison, and Jack Bech. Safety in the second round is a popular pick whether it’s Xavier Watts or Kevin Winston Jr.
This is a different two-round mock compared to what a majority of Bengals mocks have been. It’s not necessarily a bad one…but it’s certainly an interesting one.
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