Of the draft picks, only first-round defensive end Shemar Stewart and second-round linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. did not participate, as both continue to work through their contracts. The other four draft picks – offensive linemen Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers, linebacker Barrett Carter and running back Tahj Brooks – have signed already and jumped right in with the group.
“Exciting to get these guys in the building, get them on the field,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Friday after practice. “A really good group of young men, got the right stuff, all the things we thought during the draft, post-draft. So, the scouts really did a really good job getting guys in here that we think fit our locker room and are willing to work and taking the information and taking it into the field. So again, this is the infancy stage of our process with them, so I’m not going to make any proclamations on how they’re going to do here, but they’re about the right stuff. I was excited about Day 1, and now we’ll get them in with our vets next week and see how quick they can adjust to that level.”
The Bengals brought in defensive tackle Dante Barnett, who is from Birmingham, England, and attended Dickinson College, as their roster-exempted international program player.
The undrafted college free agents that signed include halfback Quali Conley (Arizona), defensive tackles Howard Cross (Notre Dame) and Eric Gregory (Arkansas), offensive tackle Caleb Etienne (Bringham Young), cornerback Bralyn Lux (Texas Tech), wide receivers Jamoi Mayes (Cincinnati), Jordan Moore (Duke) and Rashod Owens (Oklahoma State), center Seth McLaughlin (Ohio State), tight end Kole Taylor (West Virginia), quarterback Payton Thorne (Auburn) and long snapper William Wagner (Michigan).
Taylor said with only six draft picks this year, the undrafted additions were especially important for filling out the offseason roster.
“It’s important, and we always take a lot of pride here,” Taylor said. “We are not hesitant to put undrafted players on our 53-man roster. We’re not hesitant to put them in the game and let them play for us. We saw Maema (Njongmeta) make the roster last year and get in games. You saw Shaka (Heyward) play at the end of the year, undrafted guy, saw Cam Grandy, undrafted, get on the field for us. … We’ve had guys that have really stepped up and played a role for us. And we’ll continue to search through these guys to see who can help us.”
There has been quite a bit of buzz around the addition of McLaughlin, who won the Rimington Award given to the nation’s best college center but went undrafted because of uncertainty around his health following a season-ending Achilles tendon tear in early November.
McLaughlin spent four seasons at Alabama before finishing his career at Ohio State in 2024 and was projected as a potential third or fourth round pick even with the injury. With Ted Karras in the last year of his contract, McLaughlin could potentially be his future replacement if he’s able to get back to the level he was prior to the injury.
“Seth’s got a strong background, you know, played for two winning programs, and he’s about all the right stuff,” Taylor said. “And so we’re excited to get him in here and get him through the injury, and then see where he ends up.”
There wasn’t any real evaluating done Friday. Taylor said it was more about acclimating.
Some NFL teams do a full multi-day minicamp, but Taylor has elected to keep the Bengals’ limited to one day. That allows players to get the “nervous energy” out, collect some information and put some of it to practice in a walk-through setting before integrating with the full team Monday.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“It’s just what to expect and how to make a strong impression on coaching staff, the veterans, and so you get a chance this weekend to -- you don’t have school anymore, you don’t have your family around, just get yourself in the playbook,” Taylor said. “Get a chance to make a tremendous first impression on Monday, when you walk in the door and you know the information, you can communicate it, you can align correctly, you can execute the job. That goes a long way in opening some eyes on OK, this guy can really help us right now. So that’s what those guys spend these next 48 hours getting ready for that.”
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