Cincinnati didn’t get any stellar seasons from its rookies.
CINCINNATI — The Bengals are trying to win a Super Bowl for the first time in team history this coming season and will likely need better production out of their 2025 draft class than 2024 brought.
Pro Football Focus ranked the rookie production from all 32 teams this week, and Bradley Locker slotted the Bengals at No. 23 in the NFL.
“The Bengals tried to rely heavily on their new players but didn’t receive many tangible results from rookies,” Locker wrote. “First-round tackle Amarius Mims struggled, producing only a 57.8 PFF overall grade while allowing 33 pressures. Other Day 2 picks Kris Jenkins (45.4 overall PFF grade) and Jermaine Burton (59.4 PFF receiving grade) did little to assuage that. On the bright side, fifth-round cornerback Josh Newton showed flashes after being thrust into the starting lineup, finishing with a 60.9 PFF coverage grade and five pass breakups”.
The Bengals group tallied a total of 0.09 PFF Wins Above Replacement and played 4,173 snaps on the season.
Newton looks like a nice diamond in the rough, but the rest of the class needs to take a big step forward.
