Over the weekend, the 2025 NFL draft occurred in Inexperienced Bay, Wisconsin. It’s a time for groups to replenish their expertise and construct for the long run.
Every year, ESPN’s Mel Kiper provides grades after the draft is over. Kiper gave the Cincinnati Bengals a “C” and known as their 2025 draft “ho-hum.” He was not a fan of what the Bengals did with their draft capital this yr. They drafted one defensive finish, two offensive linemen, one working again, and two linebackers.
Why was Mel Kiper not a fan of the Bengals’ 2025 draft class?
Mel Kiper gave the Bengals a C, the worst draft grade he gave out (tied with the Falcons, who he docked for giving up their 2026 first-round decide).
This seems to be one other incompetent efficiency by Tobin, Taylor and buddies.
— #SellTheTeam (@BarflyBill) April 28, 2025
In keeping with ESPN’s Mel Kiper, Cincinnati’s greatest wants heading into the 2025 draft have been “Edge rusher, linebacker, security, and guard.” With the seventeenth decide on this yr’s draft, the Bengals chosen DE Shemar Stewart out of Texas A&M. Nonetheless, Kiper believed they drafted Stewart too excessive. In keeping with his rankings, Kiper had Stewart because the Twenty seventh-best participant on this yr’s class. Regardless of filling a necessity at DE, Kiper thought the Bengals’ draft was “ho-hum.”
With their second-round decide, Cincinnati chosen LB Demetrius Knight #forty ninth total out of South Carolina. Knight is an older participant on this yr’s class. He’ll flip 25 this summer time. In his lone season with the Gamecocks in 2024, Knight was voted a staff captain. With their third-round decide, Cincinnati chosen OG Dylan Fairchild out of Georgia. He’s a two-time nationwide champion with the Bulldogs and was a full-time starter the final two seasons. The Bengals imagine he may be a direct starter for his or her staff.
The Bengals checked a lot of the bins that they wanted to within the 2025 draft. Nonetheless, analyst Mel Kiper known as their draft “ho-hum.” What issues is how these gamers develop for the Bengals. Kiper is simply an analyst, and what he says just isn’t all the time the reality. We noticed that on this yr’s draft when Kiper had Shedeur Sanders because the #1 QB within the 2025 class. Nonetheless, Sanders turned out to be a fifth-round decide and the sixth QB taken. We’ll see what influence this rookie class makes for the Bengals in 2025.
