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The Bengals had notable needs at linebacker and cornerback, but the opportunity to add a premium pass rusher in Howell was too good to pass up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quick wins he can give us as a rusher is really dynamic,\u201d assistant general manager Mike Potts said. \u201cHis arsenal of rush tools and moves that he has, I thought it was second to none in this draft class.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Bengals drafted Shemar Stewart out of Texas A&M last year in the first-round, but Howell has a very different style. His speed stands out, and he also offers outside linebacker versatility.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can play 4-2 edge,\u201d defensive coordinator Al Golden said. \u201cHe can play outside backer if you go into five down (linemen). He showed proficiency being able to drop. He can help us on special teams. This is a multi-faceted athlete. A really, really twitched up guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Potts said that the Bengals weighed opportunities to move up and move back on Friday night, but the compensation didn\u2019t work out. Sticking at pick No. 41, the Bengals were able to land a player in Howell who made a very strong impression during the pre-draft process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey told me on my (pre-draft) visit that they\u2019d hope I fall to them,\u201d Howell said. \u201cIt\u2019s a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He began his college career as a redshirt at Bowling Green. Howell transferred to Texas A&M in 2024, and 2025 was his true breakout year.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe were completely aligned with the personnel and coaching staff,\u201d Potts said. \u201cThis guy is one of our favorite players in the draft.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Bengals had three potential impact pass rushers already on the roster, there was no established depth beyond that. Entering the draft, the Bengals\u2019 fourth defensive end was Isaiah Foskey, who wasn\u2019t on the roster at the start of last season.<\/p>\n
Even though the Bengals could have added a potential starter at linebacker or corner, they were planning to address defensive end early in this draft. They checked that box with Howell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are always different tiebreakers,\u201d Potts said. \u201cIn this case, it was a position we wanted to address and the highest-graded player.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the third round, the Bengals went for upside at a position of need and selected Washington cornerback Tacario Davis.<\/p>\n
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The Bengals lacked a backup corner with the physical skill set to grow into a future starter, and Davis checks that spot. The front office was impressed by his combination of size, speed and production. Davis can contribute as a true man corner in specific matchups and on third downs when the Bengals look to get more defensive backs on the field.<\/p>\n
Davis backs up two standout corners in Dax Hill and DJ Turner and provides important depth in the secondary.<\/p>\n
AP NFL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nfl<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FILE – Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell (9) rushes Samford quarterback Quincy Crittendon (2) during the first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75551,99282,99281,99283,99280,99284,99279,202,196,390,942,385,27,29,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-265351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-boye-mafe","9":"tag-dax-hill","10":"tag-dj-turner","11":"tag-isaiah-foskey","12":"tag-mike-potts","13":"tag-myles-murphy","14":"tag-nfl-draft-bengals","15":"tag-package-100502-member-choice-sports-option","16":"tag-product-30599-ap-sports-news-s-wire-only","17":"tag-product-40806-ap-ohio-sports-only","18":"tag-product-40815-ap-texas-sports-only","19":"tag-shemar-stewart","20":"tag-texas","21":"tag-texas-headlines","22":"tag-texas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}