The Athletic's Dane Brugler Trades Trey Hendrickson For First Round Pick in Mock Draft Exercise

The Bengals reportedly haven't come close to this type of offer yet.

Jan 4, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) celebrates after sacking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (not pictured) in the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Greene/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | Sam Greene/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — ESPN's Mina Kimes had The Athletic's Dane Brugler on her podcast recently to rundown what they'd do at each pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Cincinnati added an edge rusher and traded Trey Hendrickson in their exercise.

Things started with Cincinnati selecting Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart with the 17th pick over Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell.

"I'm gonna go with the guy that's 6-5, 275 pounds and is just scratching the surface of how good he could be as an edge rusher," Brugler said about his choice. "Bengals fans maybe cringe a little bit—they think of Myles Murphy and some of the other edges that haven't worked out. But I really like the potential of Stewart and what he could be. So I'm gonna lean that way."

Later on, Detroit traded its 28th pick to the Bengals straight up for the right to add the NFL's leading sack artist from the 2024 season opposite Aidan Hutchinson coming back from his injury.

"This is fantasy land, let's go with Trey Hendrickson," Brugler said about going for the veteran over a cheaper rookie. "Give me the better pass rusher, we have this window and let's go for it."

The Bengals selected Boston College defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku with the 28th pick. That means Cincinnati shed $16 million in cap space and revamped their pass rush with Stewart and Ezeiruaku.

Listen to the full breakdown of both decisions below, with Kimes acknowledging that no team has been willing to offer the Bengals a first round pick for Hendrickson up to this point.

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