The Cincinnati Bengals sure weren't afraid to be bold in the NFL Draft last year. Not only did they pick a player 17th overall in Shemar Stewart who they knew was raw as could be, but they even got in a contract standoff with him before he could even officially suit up for the team.
Talk about getting a player-organization relationship off on the right foot, amirite? Stewart struggled as a rookie with injuries. When he was on the field, he looked dreadful by NFL standards.
All the defensive ends the Bengals have drafted in recent years haven't really panned out. It appears 2023 first-rounder Myles Murphy finally came into his own in the second half of his third season, but we'll see if he can maintain that form.
Although the Bengals signed Boye Mafe in free agency, they might not be done adding to their defensive end group. Only problem is, the next acquisition may come in the form of a Stewart-esque risky draft pick.
Bengals reportedly a 'team to watch' for Auburn DE Keldric Faulk in first round of NFL Draft
ESPN's Jordan Reid contributed some fun buzz to an insider report on the latest pre-draft rumblings around the league. Unfortunately for Bengals fans, it sounds like they'll stay smitten with physical attributes and may very well overthink it to the nth degree with the 10th overall pick this year.
Reid suggested that Cincinnati, along with Kansas City, are teams to watch to roll the dice on Auburn's Keldric Faulk inside the top 10 of the draft. Here's the blurb about it:
"He fits the exact archetype that teams covet near the top of the draft. At 6-foot-5, 276 pounds, Faulk's pass-rush production took a step back in 2025, but he's only 21 and one of the best run defenders in the class. When speaking to scouts, Greg Rousseau and Mykel Williams are two NFL comparisons for him. The Chiefs at No. 9 and the Bengals at No. 10 overall are two teams to watch here."
I really don't see it with Faulk. He's a late Day 2 guy for me.
Let's roll with the supposed narrative that Faulk's pass rush production was great in 2024 and hints at his future upside. Throw out the whole season of football that just happened, and say we cling to that for hope that Faulk can be a plus quarterback harasser at the next level.
What if I told you that, in 2024, by PFF's count, 22 of Faulk's 45 QB pressures and three of his seven sacks came in four particular games? One was a 73-3 win over outmatched FCS foe Alabama A&M. Another was against the Fernando Mendoza-led California Golden Bears. Mendoza took the second-most sacks of anyone in the country that year with 40. Those matchups accounted for the three sacks.
Ready for the other two opponents who accounted for many of Faulk's pressures? Vanderbilt and its offensive line that ranked 121st out of 134 FBS qualifiers in PFF's pass blocking grades, and known football powerhouse New Mexico.
Suffice it to say, I'm not high on Keldric Faulk's pass rush potential.
Shemar Stewart had 4.5 sacks in three years at Texas A&M. That was meant to be offset by his supposed top-tier run defense, which Faulk has built his own reputation on.
Do you see the problem there? By drafting Faulk, the Bengals would, in essence, be taking someone with similar strengths and weaknesses to Stewart, only minus the true one-of-one freak athleticism. Not that Faulk isn't an athletic marvel in his own right, but Stewart is the stuff of legend.
If Faulk is the pick at No. 10, it likely means Cincinnati would already admit defeat on Stewart. But at this point, I'd rather the Bengals roll with Murphy and Mafe as starters, bank on a Year 2 jump from Stewart, and prioritize another position in the first round. I'm tired of seeing Day 1 picks not have any meaningful impact.
Wouldn't put it past the Bengals at all to draft Keldric Faulk. It's exactly the type of thing they would do. I just hope they realize they have a better version of whatever player any team hopes Faulk will turn into already on the roster in Stewart.