If there’s one thing you can say about the Cincinnati Bengals, it’s that their offense isn’t a problem. Joe Burrow is the most accurate quarterback in NFL history, the wide receiver duo of receiving Triple Crown winner Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins is arguably the best in the league, and running back Chase Brown broke out in 2024 with a stellar second season.
While much of Cincinnati’s money is tied up in the offense — Chase and Higgins both signed big-money long-term extensions during the offseason — the Bengals do have one superstar on the defensive side of the ball, edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who led the league with 17.5 sacks in 2024. Hendrickson is on the final season of his deal and Cincinnati has seemingly indicated its willingness to deal him.
With all the uncertainty surrounding its defense, it’s not a surprise that three defensive positions — defensive line/edge (-175), cornerback (+320), and safety (+600) — are the three most likely directions for the Bengals’ first-round draft pick at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Cincinnati Bengals first round pick prediction
Cincinnati was the league’s sixth-highest scoring team in 2024, putting up an impressive 27.8 points per game behind a heroic effort from Burrow, whose 4,918 passing yards were nearly 300 yards more than the next-best player, Jared Goff. The issue was the Bengals’ defense, which gave up the sixth-most yards and seventh-most points. There were four separate occasions in which Cincinnati scored more than 30 points and still lost. Only the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers even did that twice.
Even with Hendrickson on the roster, the Bengals didn’t have an elite pass rush in 2024, producing hurries at only a league-average rate and recording the eighth-fewest sacks, with Hendrickson alone accounting for almost half the team’s sacks. Besides Hendrickson, who Pro Football Focus graded as the 10th-best edge defender in the league, Cincinnati’s second-best rusher was Sam Hubbard, who had a below-average PFF pass rushing grade in 2024 and subsequently retired. Joseph Ossai — who, to be fair, was a decent rusher with five sacks, 23 pressures, and 15 quarterback hits — will now start opposite Hendrickson and be tasked with trying to chase down Lamar Jackson.
The secondary remains another pressing issue. The Bengals also allowed the 12th-most passing yards, fourth-most touchdown passes, and 14th-most net yards per attempt last season, including the third-most yards and second-most touchdowns to opposing tight ends. It wouldn’t be at all surprising, then, to see them pick a cornerback (+320). Their best cornerback last season, Mike Hilton, is currently a free agent, and his replacement, Dax Hill, is relatively unproven at cornerback after moving over from safety prior to the 2024 season. Speaking of safety, Cincinnati’s safety depth is exceptionally poor.
The issue is, there simply aren’t many cornerbacks in this year’s draft worthy of the 18th overall selection. Travis Hunter will be gone within the first three picks, likely to the Cleveland Browns with the second overall pick, and after that, Will Johnson and Jahdae Barron might also be off the board, although I mocked Barron to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 19th pick. Likewise, Georgia’s Malaki Starks and South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori are widely considered the top two safety options, but they both have their issues — Starks is poor in run support and suffers the occasional mental lapse in coverage, while Emmanwori hasn’t demonstrated the aggressiveness to pair with his elite athleticism.
It’s not an exciting selection, but the Bengals will go with an edge rusher to pair with Hendrickson and to provide a buffer if he ends up leaving. Although Ossai could be a good player eventually, Cincinnati will expand its trove of options. Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart has widely been linked with the Bengals in mock drafts.
BEST BET: CIN to select a defensive lineman/edge rusher with 1st pick (-175)
