Fredi Knighten is in his third season with the Bengals and first in the role of assistant quarterbacks coach. He joined the staff as an offensive assistant in 2022.
In 2023, Knighten worked with a Bengals offense that was without several key playmakers at different times due to injuries. However, with a healthy QB Joe Burrow behind center from Weeks 5-10, the team ranked fourth in the NFL in passing yards per game (275.6), seventh in scoring (26.6 points) and 11th in total yards (354.2). QB Jake Browning stepped into the starting role for the first time in his career after Burrow sustained a season-ending injury in Week 11, and went on to rank second in the league in passing yards (1868) and completion percentage (70.4) over the final seven weeks of the season. WR Ja'Marr Chase earned his third straight Pro Bowl selection with a career-high 100 catches for 1216 yards, and HB Joe Mixon topped 1000 rushing yards (1034) for the fourth time in his career.
In 2022, Knighten's first season in Cincinnati, the Bengals' offense ranked in the top 10 leaguewide in scoring (seventh, 26.1 points per game), total yards (eighth, 360.5), and passing yards (fifth, 265.0). Burrow set single-season team records for completions (414) and TD passes (35) en route to earning his first career Pro Bowl selection, while Chase (1046) and WR Tee Higgins (1029) each surpassed 1000 receiving yards for a second straight year.
Knighten joined the Bengals' staff after spending the 2021 campaign as an offensive analyst at Utah State University. He helped the Aggies set program records for passing yards (4248), TD passes (41), total 100-yard receiving games (13) and number of WRs with 10-plus TD catches (three). With Knighten on staff, Utah State finished the season ranked 15th nationally in passing offense (303.4 yards per game), 23rd in total offense (445.6 yards per game) and 33rd in scoring offense (32.6 points per game). The offense played a large role in the team tying the school record for wins (11) and claiming the program's first Mountain West Conference title.
At Utah State, Knighten worked with WR Deven Thompkins, who was named an AP third-team All-American and a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award. Thompkins ranked second in the NCAA and set a school record with 1,704 receiving yards on 102 receptions. He tied a Utah State record with nine total 100-yard receiving games, including six straight games with 100-plus yards.
Knighten spent two seasons (2019-20) at the University of Massachusetts, where he served as running backs coach for both years and also coached the quarterbacks in '20. During the 2020 season, none of the team's five RBs that fielded a handoff committed a fumble once over a combined 344 carries. The group rushed for a combined 1460 yards (4.2 per carry) and 11 TDs.
Prior to his time at UMass, Knighten served as a graduate assistant at Florida State for the 2018 season. He helped the Seminoles offense rank third in the ACC in passing yards per game (270.1), with QB Deondre Francois throwing for 2731 yards and 15 TDs. He was also a graduate assistant for two years (2016-17) at Maryland, helping the Terrapins rank in the top-20 nationally for fewest turnovers (14) in 2017. That season, WR DJ Moore set a school record with 80 receptions and led the Big Ten with 1033 receiving yards. Moore would become a first-round draft pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2018.
In 2016, Maryland's offense rushed for 2594 yards, marking the first time the program had 2500-plus yards on the ground since 2003. In the passing game, QB Perry Hills led the Big Ten in completion percentage (61.9).
Knighten enjoyed a decorated playing career as a dual-threat QB at Arkansas State (2012-15), ranking fourth in program history with 6986 total yards. He graduated with the second-most total yards in a single season (4056 in 2014) and was a two-time All-Sun Belt selection. Knighten was named MVP of the 2013 GoDaddy Bowl after recording 212 yards of total offense and leading the Red Wolves on a 55-yard game-winning drive in the final 1:25 of regulation.
A native of Little Rock, Ark., Knighten earned a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Arkansas State in 2016. He and his wife, Alexis, have a son, Malcolm.
Playing and coaching history: 2012-15—Played QB at Arkansas State. 2016-17—Graduate assistant coach, Maryland. 2018—Graduate assistant coach, Florida State. 2019-20—Assistant Coach (AC), Massachusetts. 2021—AC, Utah State. 2022-present—AC, Cincinnati Bengals.
