Bengals predicted to add 6’5, 14-sack EDGE with game-wrecker potential

On By Littum

The Cincinnati Bengals simply can’t go into another season with the kind of bad defense they had in 2024. As we saw, there’s only so much quarterback Joe Burrow and Co. can do. The defense must also be able to do its part.

One of the areas that needs to be addressed is the edge rusher. Trey Hendrickson is one of the league’s best pass rushers, but he’s also 30 years old and entering the final year of his deal. On top of that, Sam Hubbard is coming off a down year and is a cut candidate, and Joseph Ossai is slated to hit free agency.

In his latest mock draft, Athletics’ Dane Brugler projects that the Bengals will select Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams with the 17th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Brugler notes that Williams has the potential to be a game-wrecker.

“Last year, the Bengals drafted an offensive lineman out of Georgia in the first round (Amarius Mims),” Brugler wrote. “They turn around on the other side of the ball and do it again in this mock. Williams looked like a future top-10 pick as a freshman, but he didn’t quite reach dominant status over his three seasons in Athens. The talent, but is there for him to grow into a game-wrecker off the rim.”

Williams had a personal-high five sacks in 2024 and had just nine combined the two previous seasons to give him 14 over three years at Georgia. However, per Pro Football Focushe got 83 touches in that span.

Despite the low number of sacks, The Draft Network’s Keith Sanchez sees great upside in the Georgia product.

“Mykel Williams is an alignment-versatile edge rusher who has all the physical tools to develop into a premier edge rusher in the NFL,” Sanchez wrote of Williams in his scouting report.

With Williams needing some time to develop, the Bengals shouldn’t rely on the 6-foot-5, 265-pound edge rusher for a big role in 2025. Cincinnati still needs at least one veteran to make an immediate impact opposite Hendrickson, and hopefully Williams can be trusted to start in 2026.

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