Free agency only re-arranged the board slightly. A mere two new prospects broke into the top 16 as we mull the Bengals pick at No. 17 in the second Bengals.com Media Mock Draft of 2025 conducted by our panel of boots-on-the-ground beat reporters covering each team.
It certainly did nothing to alter the Bengals' approach after they hit many of their goals in free agency:
_Reach historic long-term deals with wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
_Re-sign a pair of veterans coming off productive seasons on both sides of the ball in tight end Mike Gesicki and defensive tackle B.J. Hill.
_Find proven pass protectors at running back (the Chiefs' Samaje Perine knows the Bengals offense cold) and guard (Lucas Patrick has allowed no sacks in his last 893 pass blocks per Pro Football Focus), as well as a reliable run stopper (Green Bay's T.J. Slaton) had a league-best percentage on some charts).
_Retain a pair of young edge rushers the new coaches wanted to get a crack at in Joseph Ossai and Cam Sample.
The reunions with Hill, Ossai, Sample and the unresolved status of All-Pro sacker Trey Hendrickson don't change the league's draft board. As it was before last month's NFL scouting combine, it's deep in the defensive line where it is stacked at both tackle and edge.
The pick is in.
1.TITANS: QB Cam Ward, Miami; Paul Kuharsky, Paul Kuharsky.com
A lot of uncertainty here for old friend Brian Callahan. There's still a sense they could trade it. They also know Callahan did pretty well with the last overall No. 1 QB he coached.
2.BROWNS: WR Travis Hunter, Colorado; Tony Grossi, ESPN Cleveland
If they can't get a quarterback, he's the next best thing for a club desperately looking for some kind of dynamism on offense. They could trade out of here, too. Heck, this draft could start with three straight trades.
3.GIANTS: QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado; Tom Rock, Newsday
Brian Daboll finally gets the promising young quarterback he wanted to groom since he arrived in New York.
4.PATRIOTS: EDGE Abdul Carter, Penn State; Karen Guregian, MassLive
New head coach and Patriotic icon Mike Vrabel is hell-bent on fixing the defense. Yes, Will Campbell is there, but they can get a tackle later.
5.JAGUARS: DT Mason Graham, Michigan; Michael DiRocco, ESPN
The Jags had one of the worst defenses last season. Graham isn't getting out of the top five.
6.RAIDERS: RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State; Vincent Bonsignore, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Vegas may still be figuring out a quarterback, but for the second straight year they get one of the most dynamic offensive players in the draft to team with tight end Brock Bowers.
7.JETS: T Armand Membou, Missouri; Rich Cimini, ESPN
The Jets have a raft of offensive needs. A little high here, maybe for the tight end, but not for the right tackle.
8.PANTHERS: EDGE Mykel Williams, Georgia; Joe Person, The Athletic
Last time out, Person took the other Georgia edge in Jalon Waker. Now he goes the other side: "Williams' potential outweighed his production in college. But he's one of the youngest players in the draft and the panthers need to start grooming Jadeveon Clowney's successor."
9.SAINTS: T Will Campbell, LSU; Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune/NOLA.com
The Saints make the local fans happy and plug a former LSU All-American tackle into starting left guard.
10.BEARS: EDGE Jalon Walker, Georgia; Brad Biggs, The Chicago Tribune
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams needs help, but the Bears can't resist the best player on the board.
11.49ERS: TE Tyler Warren, Penn State; Matt Maiocco, NBC Sports Bay Area
Second straight Media Mock the Niners go for Warren. He's a different tight end than George Kittle. But that's just it. Warren is so unique he fits into their diverse looks.
12.COWBOYS: WR Matthew Golden, Texas; Todd Archer, ESPN
If you knew that Jalen Tobert, KaVontae Turpin, and Brandin Cooks combined for five more catches than CeeDee Lamb's 101, you know why Lamb needs help.
13.DOLPHINS: CB Will Johnson, Michigan; Chris Perkins, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
There's a shot of the Dolphins draft cam with all the suits slapping each other on the back as the best cornerback in the draft slides to them so they can fit him in nicely opposite the vet Jalen Ramsey.
14.COLTS: TE Colston Loveland, Michigan; Mike Chappell, Fox59
Old friend Lou Anarumo got his safety for 30 million guaranteed (Camryn Bynum) and cornerback for 35 million guaranteed (Charvarius Ward) in free agency. Big numbers for a pair with a combined one Pro Bowl in 167 combined games. The Colts had their least productive season from tight ends since Marshall Faulk was a rookie in 1994.
15.FALCONS: EDGE Shemar Stewart, Texas A&M; D. Orlando Ledbetter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the last 45 years, they've had three individual seasons of at least 15 sacks, the last in 2016.
16.CARDINALS: T Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas A&M; Darren Urban, azcardinals.com
Hard to see them going defensive line after they went big on the edge in free agency with Dalvin Tomlinson and Josh Sweat. Old friend Jonah Williams at right tackle missed 11 games with injury and has one year left on his deal as the Cards look to book-end Cincinnati's own (Princeton and St. Xavier) Paris Johnson.
17.BENGALS: S Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina; Geoff Hobson, Bengals.com
The Bengals would have to love a board looking like this, wouldn't they?
If two quarterbacks, two tight ends, two wide receivers and three tackles are gone before they pick, that's a lot of defensive line talent looming, and it could be just begging for a trade back to get more than those six picks they've already got. Because it certainly looks like they could drop four or five spots, maybe more, and still get a starter up front.
Start with the guy we picked for the Bengals last time, Ole Miss three technique Walter Nolen, and move to Michigan tackle Kenneth Grant. Then there's edgers such as Mike Green of Marshall, James Pearce Jr., of Tennessee and Donovan Ezeiruaku of Boston College.
Throw in Alabama guard Tyler Booker of Alabama, and there's starter on the other line.
But it sure seems like if you want a defensive tackle who impacts the quarterback, it's now or never.
Of the top 10 defensive tackles with the most quarterback hits in this decade, according to Pro Football Reference, seven were taken in the first round, one in the second and two in the third.
There's a little more leeway on the edge. Hendrickson, who leads all defensive ends with 137 quarterback hits in the 2020s, was a third-round pick. So was former Bengal Sam Hubbard. Maxx Crosby and Josh Sweat are fourth-rounders. The other six went in the first round.
So why take Emmanwori, you ask? The Bengals have never taken a safety higher than No. 28. He's not even the highest-rated safety, you say. Georgia's Malaki Starks is a top-10 prospect on some boards. And the Pro Football Focus big board has Emmanwori barely in its top 50.
But when Zac Taylor talked back in January about new coordinator Al Golden re-fitting the defense, he re-emphasized he wanted someone with knowledge of the division. If Emmanwori is anything, he's an AFC North safety.
Starks? Maybe not at 6-1, 195 with a 4.5 40 and an athleticism score below 70. Tough in the AFC North.
Have you started to see the versatility of Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton in your nightmares? We give you Emmanwori.
The man is 6-3, 227 pounds and simply blew apart the combine. Have we been smitten, deluded, betrayed by combines before? If Dan Wilkinson and John Ross don't count, no.
But hear us out.
Emmanwori's 43-inch vertical leap and 11-foot, 6-inch broad jump was ranked No. 1 among all prospects. His 4.38-second in the 40-yard dash was second among safeties, and his 1.49-second in the 10-yard split was first.
He can roam, he can hug the slot and he's a bad man when he comes down hill with an athleticism score of 91. He's got the kind of experience the Bengals covet with 244 tackles and six interceptions in 37 games.
And you know the Bengals love captains, which he was at South Carolina, not to mention a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Emmanwori is rising. Last week Scouts.Inc., had him No. 22 on their board, No. 21 this week. And there's a month left.
