The 2025 NFL Draft will take place in April, and the Bengals will have the 17th pick in the first round. We've rounded up the latest projections from media outlets across the league to give you a look at who could be joining the Bengals this year.
Updated: February 27, 2025
CB Jahdae Barron, Texas
"I'm sure the Bengals would consider a defensive tackle here, but Barron is too good to pass up. Also, there will still be talented DTs available when Cincinnati is on the clock in Round 2."
"Barron won the 2024 Jim Thorpe Award as college football's best defensive back, and he had a 91.3 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus, the second best by a cornerback in the nation. He'll help beef up Cincy's secondary quickly."
OLB Mykel Williams, Georgia
"There might not be a player with more to prove this week at the combine than Williams. He was considered a candidate to go in the top five — and even potentially No. 1 — when we first started building draft boards for this class back in August. But an ankle injury slowed him in 2024, resulting in just five sacks over 12 games. The traits are there, though. With a good week in Indy, the Bengals probably won't be high enough on the board to get him. Turn on the tape, and you see the outstanding speed-to-power."
DL Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
"[The Bengals] opt for the talented Nolen, who placed second behind Mason Graham in PFF run-defense grade last season."
"With division rivals like the Ravens and Steelers committed to run-heavy offenses, Nolen would provide a major boost to Cincinnati's run defense. He posted an elite 91.6 run-defense grade last season, ranking second in all of FBS behind only Mason Graham."
"Nolen gives new Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden an instant starter. Nolen is a prototypical three-technique disrupter who tore up the SEC last year and is noted for his relentless play style."
CB Will Johnson, Michigan
"This feels like a steal for the Bengals... Johnson's eyes and IQ allow him to bait quarterbacks into throwing into nonexistent passing lanes."
EDGE Mike Green, Marshall
"Trey Hendrickson just led the league in sacks, but he was a one-man army, as Cincinnati tied for 25th in the category as a team... How about adding college football's reigning sack king?"
DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan
"Grant is a monstrous run-stopper with the size (6-foot-3, 342 pounds), strength and explosiveness to destroy opposing game plans at the point of attack."
WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
"The Arizona product put up a whopping 3,423 receiving yards in three seasons, which is more than any player in FBS in that span. His 26 touchdown catches since 2022 are the third most of any player in the country as well. In the opening game of the season, McMillan put up a whopping 304 receiving yards with four touchdown catches — one of six players since 2000 to reach those marks in a single game, and only one of three to do so while playing for a team in a Power Conference."
EDGE James Pearce Jr., Tennessee
"He can flash like lightning, flow like water, and is one of the most persistent and productive pass rushers in the entire country. Put him on the field on third and mediums and longer, and he should find himself in an impactful role while he rounds out the warts in his game."
TE Colston Loveland, Michigan
"Loveland is listed at 6-5, 237 pounds, and while he runs like he's 185, he plays like he's 260. He'll run through open-field arm tackles all day long, he has an enormous catch radius and he's a precise route runner, looking like a receiver at times in his movement skills."
