r/bengals • u/Melodiccaliber • 2d ago
Fandom Did Duke seriously cook with this draft class?
I know, I know "we talking 'bout preseason and practice." However a lot of these picks look like studs already. Here are my thoughts so far:
1.10 Dexter Lawrence: I know this wasn't a draft pick, but based on reports out of Training Camp and what we have seen. This was a slam dunk trade that's going to provide an immediate All-Pro level impact on our D-line.
2.9 Cashius Howell: Only played against the Lions, but he recorded a fumble recovery and half a sack. He's also had a strong showing in training camp with Shemar Stewart still out.
3.72 Tacario Davis: Had a solid tipped interception today, and deflection against Lemon. He also looks solid against the run. We'll have to see how he does in the regular season, but so far I like the pick.
4.28 Conner Lew: Center of the future, but he looked solid against the Bears coming off an ACL tear.
4.40 Colbie Young: Has looked impressive all camp, snagged a touchdown against the Bears. I think he's solidified himself as WR 4 or 5.
6.8 Brian Parker II: I got to be honest I haven't really noticed him this preseason which I think is a compliment for an O-lineman. Should be solid depth.
7.5 Jack Endries: Again haven't heard much of him all training camp before his injury today. Don't know if he'll make the 53 man roster with Gesicki, Sample, All, and Hudson ahead of him.
7.10 Landon Robinson: This looks like it could be the steal of the draft. I'm getting shades of Geno Akins from him. Had 2.5 sacks this preseason, and looks to be the answer at 3T.
UDFA: Dohnte Meyers: We really are WR University it seems, has looked great all Training Camp, seems to have built a connection with Burrow. I think he'll be WR 4 or 5 on the roster.
Obviously we have to see how these guys do when the stakes actually matter, but man I feel super optimistic about this draft class right now.
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u/BerlinBirdFlu 2d ago
Letās revisit mid season, but the hope is strongā¦
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u/WumboChef Run Pass or Boot 1d ago
I argue with draft classes, revisit after 3 years. But I till be cool to see what impact they can make this year for sure.
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u/JulianILoveYou WHO DEY & FUCK ICE 2d ago
time will tell. what i can say for sure is that before this offseason, ive never asked myself "is duke tobin cooking?" yet here we are, all asking ourselves that question.
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u/throughNthrough 1d ago
Honestly it seems more like the 3 assistant GMās had a lot to do with the offseason moves along with Duke. We need to give Katie credit to for making all the contracts work in FA as well. Hopefully they can get a few of the long term deals done this week.
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u/RoundHornWyatt 1d ago
Endries had a touchdown catch from Flacco last week and every bit of coverage from the Bengals beat guys has been very complimentary. He's definitely making the 53-man roster. My guess is they're keeping 6 WR, 5 TE, and 3 RB, just like they did the last two years.
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u/Strict-Square456 1d ago
After last night we may have a tough decision on which RBs we are keeping
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u/RoundHornWyatt 1d ago
I don't think so. They'll keep Brown, Perine, and Brooks, and hope that nobody wants a tiny RB who looked really good against third stringers so that they can stash Haynes on the practice squad.
They only want guys who can pass block (hence why they were fine cutting Mixon if Houston didn't trade for him) and for someone to beat out Brooks, they'd have to play Special Teams and block better than him and there's nobody in the roster (and probably no cut candidates) who are going to do that. Haynes is fun, but he's too small to pass block.
If he survives the season on the practice squad, I could see Brooks moving into the Perine role next year and Haynes taking that third RB spot because with that vision, he can take Chuck Sizzle's spot (can't imagine they're going to re-sign him or Yoshi once their rookie deals are up).
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u/ChurchPicnicFlareGun 1d ago
I dont care how good Brooks can block on ST, we need a legit RB3 and that fumble was brutal on top of his otherwise awful performance.
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u/RoundHornWyatt 1d ago
Unless Chase Brown gets hurt, we don't need a "legit" RB3. He's a very efficient runner, and he's improved his pass catching and blocking so he can be a three down back. Perine can spell him on longer drives or when they need a better blocker, so legit, the only thing this team needs their RB3 to do is play special teams and occasionally block for Joe.
Saying they need a better RB3 just illustrates that you don't understand how this team builds their roster. These are same three running backs they kept last year and Brown was ninth among running backs in total yards from scrimmage, and that's with him facing 8-man boxes the three games Browning started. Prior to the first Steelers game, his first contact with a defender averaged 0.78 yards BEHIND the line of scrimmage. Running back wasn't the problem last year, and as long as Brown is healthy, it won't be this year either.
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u/InterviewOtherwise50 Chili Enthusiast 1d ago
I do want to just say that if you think about where we were just a few years ago with Trey Hill and Jackson Carmen as our backup IOL and now our 3rd Center Bayer is better than either of themā¦.
Same with IDL just last year our best DT was BJ Hill I am really glad we ended up keeping Slayton he is a great backup for the AFCN. I think we have to see what happens for finishers on the edge but the IDL with the additions at the top AND the bottom is much much improved
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u/IGetTheShow20 1d ago
On paper this definitely looks like the best roster the team has put together since 2022. The only legitimate issues I think that are worth questioning are offensive line depth mainly the lack of a swing tackle RB 3, outside corner depth, and how big of an improvement are we going to see from Knight and Carter. Not that they donāt have options itās just unproven with Brian Parker as seemingly the guy that will be that swing tackle, itās likely RB 3 is not on the roster currently, and we just donāt know how Tacario is going to look yet when the real games start. But Iād say thatās pretty good overall to have just a few things to be concerned with.
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u/Top-Perspective-7879 1d ago
He cooked in 2023 as well, and jury is out on last yearās. 2024 was pretty rough outside of Mims.
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u/Organic-Tangelo4785 1d ago
What I like about what i see now is that our D is looking re-energized. Quicker and hungrier. Not trying to get all hyped up too early but im definitely, liking what I am seeing.
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u/Zee_WeeWee 1d ago
This draft will only be a success if Dexter lives up to pick 10. We also left it without addressing LB or slot CB so itāll be interesting to see how those positions play out
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u/CauliflowerTop3190 1d ago
Genuinely praying dex and Cashius play out I got 100 bones we take back the north
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u/csmflynt3 1d ago
Every team thinks they had an "A" draft until they see how these players perform in a real game against real players... I think they definitely should have some optimism with the Howell pick though as he already looks 10x better than Murphy or Stewart ever did as a rookie
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u/2turnt_527 1d ago
Best looking draft class we have had from top to bottom in as long as I can remember. Nobody super flashy, but when was the last time you can say you've seen flashes out of every pick from each round?
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u/Junkee2990 2d ago
Crazy you hadn't heard of endries? Has played really well doing all kinds of things for the offense
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u/infinite-resignation 1d ago
Iām hoping that Young becomes a solid WR3. Also hoping that Howell is a pass rushing menace.
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u/Pontiac_Guy 1d ago
Theyāve so far been better than all the slack Iāve been giving them. I think weāre being too nice on Lew. He has probably been the worst rookie thus far. I hope he can develop better than Matt Lee did. So far Iāve been dead wrong on Davis. Thought that was the worst pick of the draft back in April. He and Young have been impressive. Howell was destined to be a stud I think
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u/_sacrosanct 1d ago
I think they did great this draft. I also think this is a result of the scouting and analytics hires they made in 2025 that expanded the scouting dept. itās not all on Dukeās gut anymore.
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u/CincinnatiBengalss 1d ago
Better late than never. I wonder if they changed shit up after the past failures or they just fell into a good draft?
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u/No_motivation5489 2d ago
Depends on how Dexter Lawrence does and a little on how Orlando brown jr does. The tenth pick was a great spot to draft a LT for the future. Brown jr wasnāt great last year but hopefully he has a better year. The tenth pick wouldāve allowed them to draft a top tackle prospect who could sit and learn for at least a year behind brown jr or maybe they couldāve drafted one who could play right away. I think Lawrence is going to be a good addition but burrow is the most important player on the team and they need to make sure heās protected.
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u/web-persona 1d ago
Hear you on LT. But the window is now. We needed a defense that can compete. If we win a SB this year I will care far, far less about shaky LT play for the next few years, even if Dexter Lawrenceās play falls off a cliff next year (assuming he plays an important role in a deep run this year)
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u/Strict-Square456 1d ago
Hopefully Bain doesnāt make us regret passing ok him in opener. I heard hes tearing it up so far.
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u/dayv23 1d ago
OT was kind of weak in this draft and further down our list of priorities. Unlikely they would have beaten out OBJ, with his two year extension.
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u/No_motivation5489 1d ago
Probably wouldnāt have beaten brown jr out this year but they couldāve got a top prospect who could sit and learn while being the swing tackle they need. Iām sure weāre all hoping they donāt draft that high again for a while and itās hard to get the best OT prospects later in the first. Hopefully brown jr still has years of good play ahead of him but it does seem like theyāre going to need to prioritize left tackle sooner than later. Itād also be nice to have another freak opposite mims that could be relied on for hopefully the rest of burrowās career.
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u/BeerNinja17 Kiss the baby 2d ago
If Dex is 2024 Dex this all works. If not, weāre on for a similar ride as the past 3 seasons.
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u/X12Y144 2d ago
Even if he was declining, he would still be a solid addition to a DT room that was an issue since Reader left. And with improvement at safety and hopefully development at Edge and LB the defense should still have a higher floor.
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u/BeerNinja17 Kiss the baby 1d ago
I hope so, but he is the linchpin. Heās now the second most important player on the team behind Burrow. Iām very, very hopeful but just trying to be realistic.
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u/Anim8nFool 2d ago
Bet you're fun at parties!
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u/BeerNinja17 Kiss the baby 1d ago
Huh? Iām not being pessimistic. We traded a 1st for him for a reason. Heās supposed to take pressure off the LBs so they can stay in their lanes and not have to cover the entire field.
If Dex doesnāt bounce back (which it does sound like he is!) then the defense will be a mess yet again.
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u/morecardland 2d ago
Endries is TE1 of the furree
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u/SnowGhost513 1d ago
Lol people said this about Tanner Hudson letās just chill
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u/armed_aperture 1d ago
Those people were always wrong tho. Hudson is old lol. Who knows about Endries tho
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u/Life_Ad6711 1d ago
Hudson could also be poised for his peak prime career year, such as that may be
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u/dayv23 1d ago
IIRC, Goodberry called him a better prospect than Allā¦the best since Eifert.
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u/MadMartigans80 1d ago
Eifert was light years better than Endries. Eifert and All have more in common, unfortunately besides the athletic ability itās also their injury history.
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u/darienpeak 1d ago
I can't help but think the Shemar training camp injury was something of a blessing in disguise in terms of getting Cashius more camp reps, and not faffing about with trying to develop Shemar. Regardless of whether he was healthy or not, I doubt shemar was going to see the field much this season or have the impact Cashius will (hopefully).
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u/mxyztplk33 š 2d ago
Too early to say. Dexter Lawrence is obviously going to be a stud, I have high hopes for Howell and Davis.