Bengals head coach Zac Taylor's offseason vision of attacking his Super Bowl contender's biggest needs with a re-constituted coaching staff and an influx of youth crystallized Friday night in the second and third rounds of the NFL Draft.

The Bengals head into Saturday's final four rounds with three players projected to fill three of their biggest needs. Depth on the defensive line and new blood at linebacker and guard.

And it just so happened the three picks came at spots with new position coaches during an offseason Taylor has emphasized developing young players.

"We're very thankful that a linebacker that we really coveted and a guard that we really coveted were both there, so it's been a good day for us," Taylor said Friday night.

With the Bengals staring all day Friday at the name of South Carolina linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. at the top of their draft board, they pulled the trigger at No. 49 to take one of the draft's most pro-ready players at age 25 who immediately competes to be Logan Wilson's Opening Day running mate.

Then the Bengals held tightly to one of their highest-rated guards and took Georgia's Dylan Fairchild at No. 81 in the third round. Taylor told you what he thought about that pick when he walked into the media room and promptly said Fairchild is in the competition to start at left guard.

"The toughness and the nastiness is all over the tape," said offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. "And then you go meet the kid and you look him in the eye and hear him respond to questions, and you hear him talk about what's important to him. It oozes out of him. That's who he is. It's central to who he is."

Going back to the selection of Texas A&M edge Shemar Stewart in Thursday night's first round, some of the most glaring needs had been addressed.

The Bengals were hoping to trade back Friday in either round to add to their six picks and the phone always jangles. But with names that fit their needs so well, it was hard to move even a little, if at all.

"We're not drafting anybody right now, yesterday or tonight, to not play considerably (and) not to make an impact," said defensive coordinator Al Golden, who now has a much different front seven than he did on Thursday morning with the addition of Knight and Stewart.

Golden, the Bengals' Super Bowl linebackers coach who won last season's Frank Broyles Award as the best assistant coach in college football, is at the centerpiece of Taylor's changes. After calling the versatile Stewart a chess piece up front Thursday night, Golden labelled Knight's interchangeability on and off the ball just as valuable on Friday.

The Knight selection is the Bengals' first of a linebacker since Golden was the coach who oversaw the Wilson-DavisGaither-Bailey draft in 2020. The 6-2, 235-pound Knight represents a glimpse at Golden's unfolding philosophy.

"He's played at 240 to 245. He's got enough length to go to the edge when you want to go to a five-down look," Golden said. "Or play some outside backer for you. So, that's a pivotal piece for us.

"That just gives you so much flexibility and versatility. If we're running a 4-3 against the Ravens here in our division, we'll need three (backers) on the field. A Sam, a Mike and a Will. Can guys learn multiple positions? Do they have value on third down? Is it always off the ball? No, it doesn't have to be off the ball. You can be a guy who can move around in an odd package and rush. You could be a guy who's a spy. Certainly (Knight) is fast enough to do that and long enough to do that, so those are all the things that we're looking for, and once you get all the pieces, you put it together. We've been holding back, to be honest with you, to fortify some of the things that we want to do, and it should be clear to the staff where we're at and what we need to get done."

When they opted for Fairchild and his undefeated high school wrestling moves, new offensive line coach Scott Peters, a one-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, made a friend at the Georgia pro day when he and Fairchild mixed it up in a demonstration.

"We just basically put hands on each other. That's where I really felt a connection," Fairchild said. "I could just feel in my hands, and his hands...I don't know, you could just feel that wrestler mindset, that jiu-jitsu mindset kind of connect right there."

There's no question now this is Peters' offensive line room. Pitcher, who accompanied Peters to the Georgia pro day and watched him and Fairchild push around each other, saw something.

"As you guys get to know Scott, (he's a) tremendous technician (with) a lot of energy for that element of his job. The hand-to-combat, giving guys tools to win in that phase, that's who he is," Pitcher said. "It just seeps out of him. So when you see him interact with these young players, they really gravitate to that.

"You see their eyes light up when he starts talking about how he's going to be able to develop them. That's what makes us go. That doesn't mean that's the only thing that makes us go, but that's what makes us go first and foremost."

There should also be no doubt that new defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and new linebackers coach Mike Hodges have also put their stamp on things. Hodges, who has spent the last eight years coaching the Saints linebackers, saw his phone buzz at his desk Friday night after the second round and excused himself.

"D Knight!! Are you ready? We're ready," Hodges told him.

Before his newest player phoned, Hodges called out his biggest attributes.

"He's a thumper. He's a run and hit guy who has a lot of flash plays and I don't think we've seen his best football yet even though he's older," Hodges said. "Smart. Instincts. Hopefully, he can plug and play and get the room built up the right way. We have to rebuild the culture because there are going to be some new faces in here."

Hodges went to the South Carolina pro day and found that Knight had been the guy advertised. They went one-on-one while watching film. "He did a good job," Hodges said. Hodges was concerned about the three schools in six years, and playing his last year in South Carolina. But as a married father of two, Knight divulged in their long conversation that the decisions had been family-based.

"He going to come in here and we're going to talk about 401Ks," Hodges joked. "He's unique in some ways. Just look at his numbers and look at the tape and if you don't ever meet the guy, you say this guy has chance to have a good impact on the defense."

Hodges' big guy in New Orleans had been the one-time All-Pro Demario Davis. Hodges certainly isn't comparing Knight to Davis (At 248 pounds, Davis is bigger and slightly faster), but he sees a thread.

"What you see is the stroke on contact," Hodges said. "That ability to make plays sideline to sideline."

So far, that's where this draft has ranged in the hunt to fill the spots with culture as well as talent.

"I feel like we've gotten critically better in the last 24 hours with the two guys we've brought in," Golden said. "And in changing the dynamic of their rooms, they can move us forward, which is important."