The Cincinnati Bengals’ 2025 season came to an end with a 20-18 loss to the Cleveland Browns. The loss dropped the Bengals to 6-11, their worst record since the 2020 season. That season was quarterback Joe Burrow’s first in the NFL.
After reaching the Super Bowl in the 2021 season, the Bengals have gradually regressed. They lost in the AFC Championship in 2022. Following their back-to-back seasons with deep playoff runs, Cincinnati has missed the postseason for the third consecutive season. Despite Cincinnati’s regression, team president Mike Brown released a statement confirming that the head coach and general manager would be retained for the 2026 season. He said, “I am confident that Duke Tobin and Zac Taylor are the right leaders to guide us forward. They have proven they can build and lead teams that compete for championships. We trust their plans and expect to return to our desired level of success.”
Bengals Rookie Class Among League’s Worst
The statement by Mike Brown was met with some criticism. Some fans in particular criticized the decision to stick with general manager Duke Tobin. Perhaps a reason why fans are frustrated with Tobin is the lack of production from Cincinnati’s draft class. ESPN writer Aaron Schatz ranked every NFL team’s 2025 rookie class in terms of production; the Bengals ranked 23rd out of 32 teams.
Schatz wrote, “The top Bengals rookie was second-round linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. He had 14 starts and racked up 106 combined tackles with three sacks and two interceptions. Fourth-round linebacker Barrett Carter got 12 starts next to Knight and also had 106 combined tackles. Elsewhere on defense, first-round edge rusher Shemar Stewart played only eight games because of injuries and had just a single sack and eight pressures.”
Additionally, regarding Cincinnati’s rookie production on offense, he said, “On offense, third-round left guard Dylan Fairchild started 15 games but was below average in both pass block (90.3%) and run block (70.2%) win rates. Across from Fairchild, fifth-round lineman Jalen Rivers started seven games at right guard in the middle of the season.”
Fortunately for Bengals fans, Schatz mentioned at the top of the article that the information wasn’t meant to be predictive, it was simply a measure of the production the rookie class had in 2025. Ultimately, despite the disappointing season, these players might have leaps in their sophomore season and help Cincinnati return to the postseason.
Performance by Top Rookies
It’s no secret that the performance by Cincinnati’s rookie class wasn’t good enough. The Bengals selected a defensive player with three out of their first four picks, and yet they were the third-worst defense in the NFL in points allowed.
Despite Knight recording over 100 tackles in 14 starts, Pro Football Focus gave the linebacker a 41.5 overall grade . That grade ranked him as the NFL’s 82nd best linebacker out of 88 qualified linebackers. Meanwhile Barrett Carter had a 39.5 overall grade by PFF and was 85th out of 88 linebackers.
As mentioned by Schatz, first-round rookie Shemar Stewart dealt with injuries. However, even when he was active he failed to provide much of a spark as he was PFF’s lowest graded edge with a 41.2 overall grade.
