Bengals go heavy on depth in the trenches in final 53-man roster prediction

The 2025 NFL preseason is in the books for the Cincinnati Bengals. Ended with a thud in a 41-14 home loss to the Indianapolis Colts, but so what? I couldn't care less. We’re full steam ahead to finding out who’ll make the initial 53-man roster.

This is always an interesting exercise, because you could theoretically be bang-on right about everyone — and still be wrong mere hours later. Of course, that’s due to the Bengals making all their initial cuts, then stalking the cuts from other teams to see who they could acquire. What a roller coa ster of emotions for those on the roster bubble to begin with.

No use in delaying the predictions. I don’t think there’ll be too many stunners on the final 53. Tell me what you think in the comments, or yell at me on social media about it if you’re so compelled.

Bengals 53-man roster projections after conclusion of preseason action

Quarterbacks (2)

Joe Burrow
Jake Browning

Do I need to explain this at all? Jake Browning has been in the system for a while now, and played at a high level when he started in place of Joe Burrow in 2023.

I was never in the camp who thought Desmond Ridder had a snowball’s chance in Satan’s Alley to unseat Browning as the QB2 — unless Jakey RPMs was trying to tank his way off the team and into a starting opportunity elsewhere. I wish Browning got to play. Just tough when you’re under perpetual team control and have Burrow in front of you.

Running Backs (3)

Chase Brown
Samaje Perine
Tahj Brooks

Samaje Perine and rookie sixth-rounder Tahj Brooks will battle for snaps behind clear RB1 Chase Brown. Zac Taylor loves to run his feature backs into the ground, and heavily involve them in the passing game, too. Fantasy players are going to love Brown as a result.

I’d love to see Perine and/or Brooks take some of the workload off Brown to extend his long-term shelf life. We’ll see what the strat-ee-gery is.

Wide Receivers (6)

Ja'Marr Chase
Tee Higgins
Andrei Iosivas
Jermaine Burton
Charlie Jones
Mitchell Tinsley

Congratulations, Mitchell Tinsley! You earned yourself a roster spot ! What a great story. Perhaps the best one of the Bengals’ entire preseason. Hard to think of a close second. Maybe because I’m still in a state of perpetual rage about Trey Hendrickson’s contract and the disarray of the right guard position.

But I digress. Usual studs here listed at the top. I’m intrigued to see what we get out of Charlie Jones after his solid preseason. Jermaine Burton may stay on the roster, but relegated to return duties for the most part thanks to Tinsley’s emergence.

Tight Ends (4)

Mike Gesicki
Noah Fant
Drew Sample
Tanner Hudson

No surprises here. I just feel like 2024 sixth-round pick Tanner McLachlan has been near-invisible since the Bengals brought him aboard. Are we sure he’s a real person? He’s giving Sasquatch. I did that lingo formula right, yes? Moving on.

On a more serious note, the fact that McLachlan doesn’t make the cut is less a reflection on him and more to do with how stacked Cincinnati’s tight end room appears to be. Mike Gesicki and Noah Fant are a heck of a duo on their own. Drew Sample is the grit-work blocker. Tanner Hudson is inconsistent but oft-productive as a pass-catching weapon.

Off ensive Line (10)

Orlando Brown Jr.
Dylan Fairchild
Ted Karras
Lucas Patrick
Amarius Mims
Devin Cochran
Matt Lee
Seth McLaughlin
Cody Ford
Jalen Rivers

Hooh buddy is this a paper-thin group. One injury to any spot, and we could be in serious trouble. Well not really, because Joe Burrow could make the offense go behind mostly biological/sentient turnstiles if he had to. I mean, he’s had to. And he has.

Left Orlando Brown Jr. played through a fractured leg last season. First-round pick Amarius Mims is at the opposite tackle spot and entering his second year. Combine their upside when healthy with wily vet Ted Karras at center, playing for a new contract, and that’s a solid trio.

The presence of rookie Dylan Fairchild at left guard is also noteworthy. Taking over a starting spot right away and showing out in the preseason makes me think this o-line unit is the best of the Burrow era on paper. Let’s focus on that, yeah?

Defensive Line (11)

Trey Hendrickson
BJ Hill
TJ Slaton
Shemar Stewart
Joseph Ossai
Kris Jenkins Jr.
McKinnley Jackson
Myles Murphy
Cedric Johnson
Taven Bryan
Howard Cross III

To me, the Bengals just need to throw a bunch of bodies at their defensive line problem and see who sticks. Keep as many guys as fresh as possible. Rotate everyone until somebody steps up to the plate and emerges as a clear starter other than defensive tackle BJ Hill.

I really think, especially with Trey Hendrickson still out amid a contract stalemate , every single other spot excluding Hill’s is up for grabs early in the season. The Bengals’ interior pass rush leaves a lot to be desire. Thus, Notre Dame UDFA Howard Cross III’s strength in that area earns him an initial roster bid here.

New defensive coordinator Al Golden named Kris Jenkins Jr. as a big training camp standout, indicating he’s improved as a pass-rusher. McKinnley Jackson has shown something there in the preseason at least. Here’s hoping both of them step up in Year 2!

Also, if Shemar Stewart isn’t a startin g defensive end within the first month of the season, regardless of Hendrickson’s playing status, that position is in dire straits.

Linebackers (5)

Logan Wilson
Demetrius Knight Jr.
Oren Burks
Barrett Carter
Maema Njongmeta

I’ve gone with Maema Njongmeta in every other 53-man forecast to date. I planned to change it up here with Shaka Heyward. It's a something of a tossup between the two at this point. I just think Njongmeta is viewed as a relative lock, and he went out and made a game-high 12 total tackles against the Colts. The man was Roy Kent levels of everywhere.

Little else to discuss here. Three of the other four linebackers were just acquired this offseason. And Logan Wilson is a beyond-reproach starter. We’ll keep it moving…

Cornerbacks (5)

Cam Taylor-Britt
DJ Turner
Dax Hill
Josh Newton
Marco Wilson

My guy Bralyn Lux can’t seem to pass up Jalen Davis on the depth chart for the second nickelback spot. Teams can play coy with those pesky depth charts in the preseason, yet I think we would’ve heard more about Lux making the roster by now if he were going to.

So anyway, the five incumbents are the men I’m rolling with at cornerback, and not Davis. DJ Turner and Dax Hill represent upgrades to the defensive backfield from last year, in the sense that both their seasons were cut short by injuries. Their comebacks should be a big boon to what’s been quite a suspect unit of late. Both have inside-out versatility as well.

Safeties (4)

Geno Stone
Jordan Battle
Tycen Anderson
PJ Jules

The more I think about it, the more PJ Jules is liable to beat out Daijahn Anthony for the last safety spot. Anthony hasn’t shown much as a seventh-round pick from last year, and looked to be banged up in the preseason finale.

In other news, Tycen Anderson is a special teams ace who’s shown he can hold his own on defense. His toe-dragging interception against the Commanders was a big highlight that showed plus ball skills and awareness. Anderson was one of the preseason's big winners.

But we all know Geno Stone and Jordan Battle are the starting safeties. Whether they’ll play to a league-average level is another matter. Playing in a new scheme at least gives them a fresh start and what I’d consider a mostly clean slate. Show us something, fellas.

Specialists (3)

K Evan McPherson
P Ryan Rehkow
LS Cal Adomitis

Nothing has gone haywire in the placekicking operation to suggest Evan McPherson will face any competition, nor that long snapper Cal Adomitis will lose his job to rookie upstart William Wagner. Punter Ryan Rehkow is on a multi-year contract, so he's not going anywhere. It's nice to have these guys so firmly locked in, or at least it would seem.

The only chance for mild surprise here is if the Bengals roll with the younger Wagner to snap. Whether it's him or Adomitis makes little difference to me. Just snap the ball good, yo!

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