The Cincinnati Bengals will strive to supplement their roster in the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay with players who can help them win games in the rugged AFC North. The team has several positions that must be bolstered to make a run at a divisional title. Upgrading the defense with impact players is priority number one, with a focus on the defensive line. The men in stripes need to generate more pressure on opposing quarterbacks from EDGE rushers and up the middle from interior DL. The secondary and linebacker corps also had issues with poor communication all season. Finally, the never-ending quest to adequately protect franchise quarterback Joe Burrow continues. The bookends are solid with Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims but, much like the defense, the interior needs work. Drafting athletic guards who move well in space has to be seriously considered in the early rounds. With this being said, let’s take a look at our second version of a three-round Bengals Mock Draft.
Cincinnati Bengals Three-Round Mock Draft 2.0
Round One (Pick 17) – S | Malaki Starks / Georgia
Don’t be surprised if the Bengals strongly consider drafting a safety at pick 17 in this year’s draft. In this scenario, they get one of the best in class in Malaki Starks from the University of Georgia. His stock is rapidly rising and you can never have enough defensive backs in the NFL. Starks is a fantastic athlete and could be inserted immediately into the starting lineup in a position Cincinnati has tried to fill effectively since the departure of Jessie Bates following the 2022 season.
Starks was a three-year starter for the Bulldogs and is no stranger to playing in big moments and games with the highest stakes. He has good size for safety at 6’1″, 197 pounds, and earned plenty of accolades during his time in Athens including, 2024 AFCA, FWWA All-America First Team, 2024 AP, The Athletic, ESPN, CBS, USA Today, Walter Camp All-America Second Team, 2023 Consensus All-America First Team, 2022 The Athletic Freshman All-America First Team and finished his career with six interceptions, six TFLs and 127 SOLO tackles.
Starks wins in many ways, and his football intelligence is off the charts. His speed and recovery skills are top-notch, and his physicality and instincts allow him to be a versatile player who can play in the box if needed.
Combine testing don’t have anything to do with these movement skills.
Malaki Starks is a SPECIAL athlete. IDC about a 40. pic.twitter.com/kaSD50Qutv
— Brooks Austin (@BrooksAustinBA) March 13, 2025
Round Two (Pick 49) – EDGE | Landon Jackson / Arkansas
Landon Jackson from Arkansas is an intriguing prospect, who, much like Starks, has seen his stock rise since the combine. Jackson would fill another need for the Bengals at EDGE rusher and help balance a thin rotation.
Jackson has prototypical rusher size at 6’6″, 264 pounds, and an arm length of 33 1/4″. His style is different and may cause concern for some teams, but his strength and unrelenting motor are too good to pass up. Jackson is on an upward trajectory as the draft comes into focus, and he could be a force to be reckoned with as he gets more reps against NFL-level players.
Round Three (Pick 81) – DT | T.J. Sanders / South Carolina
The theme of this draft for Cincinnati is defense, and they continue with DT T.J. Sanders from South Carolina at pick 81. Sanders has an excellent first step off the line of scrimmage, with solid flexibility and power in his lower half. He also employs a varied rush set and plays with violent hands. The Bengals would be thrilled to get Sanders in the third round, as he would fit in nicely in the uber-tough AFC North.
*Stats and research provided courtesy of the Pro Football Network (PFN) and NFL.com
Main Photo: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
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