The 2024 season was a massive disappointment for the Cincinnati Bengals. Yes, the Bengals ended the year with a winning record (their fourth straight) but failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
To make matters worse, the Bengals’ offense was crazy good in 2024 with Joe Burrow putting up gaudy numbers and Ja’Marr Chase tallying the best stats of his career. That shows how truly awful the Bengals’ defense was in 2024 that the offense could be wheeling and dealing all season long but the team still missed the postseason.
That’s why it should surprise no one to see mock drafts linking Cincinnati to defensive players. In the three mocks listed in this article, all three analysts had the Bengals going with a player on the defensive side of the ball and two of them connected Cincy to defensive linemen.
Bengals hope to rebuild defense in 2025 NFL mock draft roundup
CBS Sports: Walter Nolen, DL (Ole Miss)
Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports said that Walter Nolen of Ole Miss is “precisely what the Bengals need on their defensive interior.” With B.J. Hill set to hit free agency and Sheldon Rankins not working out in the first of his two-year deal in Cincinnati, adding help on the defensive interior makes sense here and Nolen could be a great option at pick number 17.
Nolen finished his 2024 season at Ole Miss with 6.5 sacks and 48 total tackles while defending three passes and recovering two fumbles. He previously played at Texas A&M in 2022 and 2023 before spending his final collegiate season in Oxford with the Rebels.
Grade: A-
Sports Illustrated: Shemar Stewart, DL (Texas A&M)
Daniel Flick of Sports Illustrated also has Cincinnati focusing on the defensive line, linking them to Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart. Flick wrote, “The 6′ 5″, 281-pound Stewart has the size, strength and athleticism of a top-10 pick, but his numbers—1.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss—don’t match. He finished the 2024 season with 33 hurries, which greatly helps his cause, but Stewart may be a prime draft day example of film versus production in war rooms.”
The knock on Stewart is that, as Flick pointed out, his numbers during his final season with the Aggies don’t jump out as that of a first-round pick. That being said, stats don’t always tell the whole story but Bengals fans might not be crazy about this selection due to the last few first-round picks on defense (Myles Murphy and Dax Hill have not looked the part of first-rounders).
Grade: B
NFL.com: Jahdae Barron, CB (Texas)
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com went in a different direction here, noting that “[Jahdae] Barron is too good to pass up” and that “there will still be talented DTs available when Cincinnati is on the clock in Round 2.”
The Bengals could use help just about everywhere on defense and the secondary is a big part of that. Cam Taylor-Britt is hit-and-miss, Mike Hilton is set to hit free agency, and Dax Hill, as noted earlier, has not been first-round caliber. Adding Barron to Al Golden’s defense could help the unit get back to what it was during the Super Bowl and AFC Championship seasons.
Grade: A
