The Cincinnati Bengals could be an interesting point of focus across the NFL during the middle of the 2025 NFL draft’s first round.
There, the Bengals could attack one of several different positions at No. 17, triggering a run at a certain spot or perhaps even encouraging trades up and down the order.
According to Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline, several teams could keep an eye on the Bengals during the draft to see if a run on edge rushers happens:
“The overwhelming feeling in the league is that the Cincinnati Bengals, who own the 17th pick, will determine if there’s a run on edge rushers during the second half of Round 1. If the Bengals take an edge rusher, the floodgates are expected to open up, and at least seven, or possibly eight, will be drafted before Day 1 is through.”
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Pauline does suggest that the Bengals could trade Trey Hendrickson if they elect to draft an edge rusher in Round 1, but that remains unlikely given how unproven the remaining stable of pass rushers on the roster is and the fact they hold most of the leverage over the star defender.
Perhaps more notable is the idea teams are already eyeballing the Bengals as a spot for an edge rusher. If that’s the case, there’s always a chance those same teams could choose to leapfrog the Bengals in the order to make sure they don’t miss out.
That could create an unfortunate situation where a guy the Bengals really like comes off the board a pick or two before they walk to the podium (remember Frank Ragnow one pick before Billy Price?).
Either way, edge rusher remains a high likelihood for the Bengals in Round 1 and it’s not much of a secret around the league.
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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals targeted as pivot point at critical position of NFL draft
