The 2025 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and mock drafts are filling up the Google homepage. Young players’ careers are just getting started, and some veterans in the NFL are going to be tuning in with bated breath. A selection at a certain position tends to spell the end of a player’s time with a team or in the NFL altogether. It’s an unfortunate part of the business that is football, but it’s a business at the day.
This year, there are a few cut candidates still on the roster for the Cincinnati Bengals. A few veterans have been tabbed by fans and pundits alike as players who will be let go at this point in the offseason. Even then, they’re still employed with the draft on the horizon. The Bengals only have six picks in the draft, all spread out through the first six rounds. Should they entertain a trade back at any point? Perhaps, but one thing is for certain: there are a few players who will be watching. Cincinnati can upgrade at a handful of positions through the draft.
Trey Hendrickson will be tuned in, but for a completely different reason, considering his standoff with the Bengals brass. To this point, the two haven’t agreed to a new deal. At the same time, the team hasn’t gotten a trade offer it is willing to entertain. It would be a surprise if Hendrickson is dealt on draft day, but an early pick on the edge could make the situation a bit clearer. As for the rest of the roster, there are three players to watch.
Three Bengals Players Who Will Be Watching the Draft Very Carefully
Cordell Volson
Every year, the Bengals love going into the draft with one glaring need, for better or worse. This year, that glaring need is at guard. This offseason, the team parted ways with Alex Cappa, one of the NFL’s worst guards. On the other side, Cordell Volson is still in Cincinnati on the final year of his rookie contract. The Bengals inexplicably brought back Cody Ford and signed Lucas Patrick as one of just five outside free agents added to the roster.
None of those named guards are good enough to protect Joe Burrow in 2025. And yet, at least one of them will. If the draft concludes and the two starting guards are coming from the group of Volson, Ford, and Patrick, it will be malpractice.
To give Volson credit, he has been consistent. He has started 36 consecutive games (including the playoffs) and was the only lineman to start every game in 2022, in the 2022 postseason, and the entire 2023 season.
However, the Bengals should look to upgrade the position in addition to filling the vacant hole on the right side. Of all of the positions, the Bengals could certainly double-dip at guard. This is especially possible if they elect to trade back in the first round to net a second or third-round pick.
Either way, if the pick is Kelvin Banks or any other guard over the first two days of the draft, Volson may be put on notice.
Germaine Pratt
Prior to the 2024 season, Germaine Pratt was considered a cut candidate, but he stuck with the team and started all 17 games. He posted a career-best in tackles with 143 and made it three straight seasons with two interceptions from the linebacker position. However, the negotiations for a third contract were not going his way, so he elected to request a trade.
Pratt has been at the center of plenty of incredible Bengals moments. None were bigger than his game-ending interception that sealed the franchise’s first playoff win in 31 years back in 2021. He earned the nickname “Playoff P,” and fans will look back on his tenure kindly.
If Jihaad Campbell is on the board at 17, it’s feasible that he could be the pick. Even then, the Bengals can find linebackers who can contribute later in the draft. Of all of the rumors floating around, Pratt being a draft-day trade is the most plausible, even if for a day-three pick.
Linebacker play needs an upgrade, regardless. Pratt is likely out the door one way or another. If the Bengals invest in the position, it would cement his future with the club.
Chase Brown
Last year, the Bengals were considered to have the worst running back room in the NFL. Given, that had less to do with Chase Brown and more to do with the fact that there was legitimately nobody else. Zack Moss was a non-factor prior to his neck injury, and then the team shipped off a seventh-round pick for 28 carries (and a fumble) from Khalil Herbert.
Brown was a dynamic back and gave the offense a little something it didn’t get from Joe Mixon. There is a feeling that the Bengals will draft a running back at some point. However, the draft capital will dictate what happens with Brown.
Compared to the other two mentioned, Brown’s place on the roster is safe as he’s only heading into his third season. He is currently the number-one back, but they’ll have to upgrade the depth at the very least.
Picking a running back in the first two rounds would show that the Bengals are serious about upgrading the position. If they use a day-three pick, it’ll be more of a running mate to Brown.
He’ll be watching to see if he will be supplanted or if he is going to get a partner. Samaje Perine was once a solid second back, but he’s not going to challenge Brown. In this loaded crop of running back prospects, the Bengals would be foolish to walk away without a single rookie back. Whether or not they plan on taking a top-end back or a later guy will be the question.
Bonus: Geno Stone, Drew Sample, Jermaine Burton
Main Image: Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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