Having a strong young core is crucial to long-term success in the NFL, and the Bengals appear to be making progress on that front after lagging behind most NFL teams this decade.
ESPN’s Aaron Schatz ranked all 32 teams by how much under-age-25 talent they have, and Cincinnati checked in at No. 20 overall.
The franchise ranked 25th in this exercise last season as it saw names like DJ Turner II, Dax Hill and Jordan Battle graduate out of the group.
Amarius Mims is considered their only young marquee player.
“The Bengals climbed up a bit in these rankings despite graduating most of their secondary,” Schatz wrote. “The youth that remains begins with the offensive line, as right tackle Amarius Mims and left guard Dylan Fairchild are both 23. So is guard Jalen Rivers, who started seven games last season because of injuries on the line. And fourth-round center Connor Lew will be 21 in August.
“The other position with a lot of youth is edge rusher: Myles Murphy is 24, and Shemar Stewart is 22; 2026 second-round pick Cashius Howell is 23. Behind those players, you’ll find linebacker Barrett Carter, who started 12 games as a rookie and doesn’t turn 24 until October, and 22-year-old third-round rookie cornerback Tacario Davis.”
Shemar Stewart and Myles Murphy are going to be huge factors in how impactful Cincinnati’s young talent is about to be this fall. Stewart, 22, and Murphy, 24, have a full runway to a hefty amount of snaps on the edge to go with Boye Mafe.
Stewart knows he and this whole unit can change the narrative quickly.
The additions of Mafe, Dexter Lawrence II and Jonathan Allen should leave those outside forces with plenty of one-on-one islands.
“I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I’m so excited to play with these guys,” Stewart said earlier this offseason. “We got two monsters added to the room, so I can’t wait to see how this year turns out.”
Check out the full ranking from Schatz here.
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