Ranking the Last 10 Cincinnati Bengals' Draft Classes: Nos. 10-6

There are a number of reasons you can point to as reasons for the Cincinnati Bengals missing the playoffs each of the last three seasons despite having some of the top offensive skill players in the game.

While it would be difficult to fully quantify the amount of blame to facets such as injuries, coaching, poor play, free agency hand-sitting and lousy drafting, if you were to take a poll among the fanbase, there’s little doubt picking players would be a runaway winner as the biggest culprit.

So let’s just roll with that idea and taking a look at each of the Bengals’ last 10 draft classes to see where the recent ones rank, despite being incomplete, in comparison to the ones in the early half of the last decade.

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Here is the list with each year’s picks (plus seasons on the roster, games and starts with the Bengals).

The 2024 Bengals' Draft Class Had Just One Good Pick

No. 10: 2024

1R – Amarius Mims, OT (2 seasons, 32 games, 30 starts)

2R – Kris Jenkins, DT (2 seasons, 29 games, 13 starts)

3R – Jermaine Burton, WR (2 seasons, 14 games, 1 start)

4R – McKinnley Jackson, DT (2 seasons, 22 games, 1 start)

4R – Erick All Jr., TE (2 seasons, 9 games, 6 starts)

5R – Josh Newton, CB (2 seasons, 31 games, 8 starts)

6R – Tanner McLachlan, TE (2 seasons, 2 games, 0 starts)

6R – Cedric Johnson, Edge (2 seasons, 18 games, 0 starts)

7R – Matt Lee, C (2 seasons, 17 games, 1 start)

Not even Amarius Mims can save this group from the bottom spot.

Admittedly, it’s hard to get a true feel for a draft class until it’s had three seasons in the league, but this group hardly looks capable of repairing its ranking.

The Burton pick is never going to look any better, and McLachlan, Lee and Jackson have large hills to climb just to earn playing time, let along make an impact.

And Jenkins could find himself buried on the depth chart if the Bengals draft a defensive tackle after signing Jonathan Allen in free agency.

Is it Too Soon to Give Up on Bengals' 2025 Draft Class?

No. 9: 2025

1R – Shemar Stewart, Edge (1 season, 8 games, 5 starts)

2R – Demetrius Knight Jr., LB (1 season, 17 games, 14 starts)

3R – Dylan Fairchild, G (1 season, 15 games, 15 starts)

4R – Barrett Carter (1 season, 17 games, 12 starts)

5R – Jalen Rivers (1 season, 16 games, 7 starts)

6R – Tahj Brooks (1 season, 16 games, 0 starts)

If you think it’s early to be grading the 2024 class, well then it’s really premature evaluation to put a label on 2025.

Technically this group should get an incomplete.

One reason it looks so bad is because the failures of the 2024 class forced this group to play way more than rookies should.

Despite having just six draft picks, the 2025 class combined to make 53 starts. That’s 16 more (30.2 percent) than the next highest number on this list, which was 37 by the 2024 team.

Can you see the domino effect?

The 2023 class is ascending, but it was a slow starting group, forcing the 2024 class to play 124 games as rookies – the most on this list.

My guess – and no doubt the Bengals coaching staff’s – is that if we do this exercise again, say in five years, the 2025 group will be ranked much higher.

After Hill, Not Much Value Coming Out of 2022 Bengals' Draft Class

No. 8: 2022

1R – Dax Hill, DB (4 seasons, 54 games, 41 starts)

2R – Cam Taylor-Britt, CB (4 seasons, 47 games, 40 starts)

3R – Zach Carter, DT (3 seasons, 37 games, 16 starts)

4R – Cordell Volson, G (4 seasons, 50 games, 48 starts)

5R – Tycen Anderson, DB (4 seasons, 41 games, 0 starts)

6R – Jeff Gunter, Edge (1 season, 10 games, 0 starts)

Small class, small impact.

Hill is the only guy keeping this group from being in the No. 9 or 10 spot.

He still may end up getting a second contract with the Bengals, but if he doesn’t, this will be the first draft class that didn’t net at least one since 2014 (Darqueze Dennard, Jeremy Hill, Will Clarke, Russell Bodine, AJ McCarron, Marquis Flowers, James Wright, Lavelle Westbrooks).

Taylor-Britt started on a fast track to become something special, but it all fell apart.

Volson started 48 games as a fourth-round pick but struggled to improve.

Anderson was a solid fifth-round pick because he was so good on special teams, but he never showed enough in practice to give the coaches confidence to play him at safety in a game.

Second Contracts: None

Pro Bowls: 0

Games Played for Team: 239

Starts for Team: 145

Game Played Overall: 251

Starts Overall: 145

Sample the Lone Holdover from Bengals' 2019 Draft Class

Nov 27, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals tight end Drew Sample (89) runs after a catch in the field half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

No. 7: 2019

1R – Jonah Williams, OT (5 seasons, 74 games, 74 starts)

2R – Drew Sample, TE (7 seasons, 95 games, 62 starts)

3R – Germaine Pratt, LB (6 seasons, 96 games, 88 starts)

4R – Ryan Finley, QB (2 seasons, 8 games, 4 starts)

4R – Renell Wren, DT (2 seasons, 12 games, 2 starts)

4R – Michael Jordan, C/G (2 seasons, 27 games, 19 starts)

6R – Trayveon Williams, RB (6 seasons, 68 games, 0 starts)

6R – Deshaun Davis, LB (0 seasons)

6R – Rodney Anderson, RB (0 seasons)

7R – Jordan Brown, CB (0 seasons)

Each of the first three received second contracts in the league.

The rest?

Oof.

Trayveon Williams had a decent career with staying power for a sixth-round pick, but the Bengals got absolutely nothing from the rest of the group other than a Joe Burrow torn ACL on Jordan’s missed block in 2020.

Although Jordan is still playing in the league, a veteran of 78 games.

The Finley pick was so bad it was good, as his disastrous three-game run as a rookie starter ensured the Bengals would be able to draft Joe Burrow.

Second Contracts: Jonah Williams got the first-year option and then signed a two-year, $30 million deal in Arizona. He remains unsigned this offseason.

Sample signed a modest second contract worth $10.5 million over three years to stay in Cincinnati, while Pratt remained with the Bengals past his rookie deal, inking a three-year, $20.3 million contract.

Pro Bowls: 0

Games Played for Team: 365

Starts for Team: 234

Game Played Overall: 455

Starts Overall: 295

Bates Was Elite Pick in 2018 Despite Bengals Not Keeping Him

Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates III (30) celebrates after intercepting a pass from Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 14 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. The Bengals improved to 9-4 with a 23-10 win over the Browns. Cleveland Browns At Cincinnati Bengals Week 14 | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

No. 6: 2018

1R – Billy Price, C (3 seasons, 42 games, 19 starts)

2R – Jessie Bates, S (5 seasons, 79 games, 79 starts)

3R – Sam Hubbard, Edge (7 seasons, 104 games, 88 starts)

3R – Malik Jefferson, LB (1 season, 12 games, 0 starts)

4R – Mark Walton, RB (1 season, 14 games, 0 starts)

5R – Davontae Harris, CB (1 season, 3 games, 0 starts)

5R – Andrew Brown, DT (2 seasons, 18 games, 1 start)

6R – Darius Phillips, CB (4 seasons, 47 games, 10 starts)

7R – Logan Woodside, QB (0 seasons)

7R – Rod Taylor, OT (0 seasons)

7R – Auden Tate, WR (4 seasons, 35 games, 12 starts)

The Bengals boast a pair of great picks on Day 2, but they also had a huge swing in miss with Jefferson after landing a second third-round pick by trading back in the second and still getting Bates.

And when the first-round pick straddles the line between meh and bust, it craters the entire classes’ grade.

And just 23 career starts (12 by Tate) for the final eight picks in this group?

That’s brutal.

For the classes that have had a chance to ride out their rookie deals, we’re also going to take a look at some other factors that contribute to the overall ranking.

Second Contracts: Hubbard signed a four-year, $40 million deal ahead of 2021 and proceeded to make some huge postseason plays for the team.

Bates got a second contract, but it was with the Falcons after the Bengals franchise tagged him in 2022.

That the Bengals let Bates walk away doesn’t factor into the ranking of the class.

This exercise is just focused on the picks, not what the front office did right or wrong after the players were in the building. And Bates was an elite selection.

Pro Bowls: 1 (Bates, and it was with the Falcons)

Games Played for Team: 354

Starts for Team: 209

Game Played Overall: 536

Starts Overall: 299

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