The Cincinnati Bengals' selections in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft are now set in stone following the announcement for the compensatory picks for the draft.
For those unaware, compensatory picks are annually awarded by the league to teams that lost more or better compensatory free agents than they signed in the previous year. The picks are slotted between Rounds 3 to 7 based on the value of the compensatory free agents lost. The formula that determines compensatory free agents is based on salary, playing time and postseason honors, per the NFL.
15 teams received compensatory picks this year, but unfortunately the Bengals weren't one of those teams. That means that the Bengals won't get any extra picks in the draft.
With no extra picks coming their way, the Bengals have six total selections in the '25 Draft. It would be seven, but the team traded its seventh-round pick to the Chicago Bears for running back Khalil Herbert prior to the trade deadline.
So, while they won't have a pick in the seventh and final round of the draft the Bengals will have a pick in each of the previous six rounds. Here's a look at those six selections, and where they will fall numerically in each round:
After having the No. 18 overall pick in the 2024 Draft last year and using it on offensive tackle Amarius Mims, the Bengals will have the No. 17 overall pick this year. This is the fifth time that the Bengals have had the 17th pick in franchise history.
Last time the Bengals had the No. 17 selection was back in 2012. They used the pick on cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, who went on to play eight seasons in Cincinnati.
The 2025 NFL Draft will take place from Thursday, April 24 to Saturday, April 26 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
More must-reads:
There is no denying who the alpha is in the Green Bay Packers running back room. After burning rubber for 1,329 rushing yards to go with 15 rushing touchdowns on 301 carries in the 2024 NFL season, Jacobs is expected to carry most of the load again in the Packers’ ground attack in 2025. Besides being a reliable and effective weapon on offense for the Packers, Jacobs was also durable in his first season with the team, having appeared in all of Green Bay’s 17 games in the regular season and in the lone contest in the NFL playoffs. Look for the 27-year-old former Alabama Crimson Tide star running back to be there starting in the backfield along with quarterback Jordan Love in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL regular season against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field. But as for his availability and usage in this coming Saturday’s preseason opener at home versus the New York Jets, it won’t be surprising if he gets zero snaps at all, considering that there’s really nothing important on the line. Jacobs is ready whenever he’s called upon by the Green Bay Packers Jacobs said on Thursday that Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has yet to convey a concrete plan for the Jets game. Nevertheless, he’ll be ready. Via Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers’ official website: Jacobs is on board with whatever direction LaFleur and the coaches decide to go but said wouldn’t mind getting “a couple series” to reacclimate to tackling. “We’ll see how it’ll play out,” Jacobs said. “(LaFleur) hasn’t really told us what we’re gonna do. But I think I’ll get a couple hits, get a little feel of it and be cool.” The Packers will also play the Indianapolis Colts on the road in Week 2 of the preseason before meeting the Seattle Seahawks for their final assignment before the regular season starts.
The Celtics need not be in a hurry to get further under the NBA's luxury tax threshold, now that they've successfully navigated the dreaded second apron, unloading stars Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in trades and letting the likes of Luke Kornet and, likely soon, Al Horford walk in free agency. Still, Boston is looking to create as much flexibility as possible this season, with star forward Jayson Tatum out for the year with an Achilles tendon tear and the roster generally depleted all around, as the Celtics begin paying the cost for the contracts team honcho Brad Stevens handed out as they were winning the 2024 NBA championship. That means the chief prize the Celtics got back in making the trade that sent Holiday to the Blazers--Anfernee Simons, the 26-year-old scorer who is in the final year of a four-year, $100 million contract--is still available on the trade market, according to league insider Jake Fischer. Celtics Salary Dumps Continue The Celtics did make one salary-dump trade this week, sending Georges Niang to Utah. Niang was owed $8.2 million for the 2025-26 season, and is now the Jazz's problem. He was sent to Boston in the Porzingis trade. Writes Fischer on The Stein Line substack on Sunday: "The Celtics discussed trading Niang with various teams around the league, sources say, in their continued salary-shaving campaign following the luxury-tax-slashing trades that shipped out Jrue Holiday and Porzingis. "The expectation persists, furthermore, that Boston will continue to invite trade discussion involving Anfernee Simons from now through next season's trade deadline on Feb. 5 at 3 PM ET." Simons averaged 19.3 points per game last season in Portland, and was down somewhat on his 3-point shooting, at 36.3%. Still, he should bounce back, as he is a 38.1% career 3-point shooter, and if he returns to form, his market value will only get that much stronger ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
The Red Wings have announced that they are bringing back their iconic 'Hockeytown' logo to center ice at Little Caesars Arena for their 100th year in the NHL. A somewhat familiar look is coming back to center ice at Little Caesars Arena, which has been the home of the Detroit Red Wings since 2017. A special fan polling has resulted in the announcement that the iconic former 'Hockeytown' logo from Joe Louis Arena, their former home, is coming back as part of a new special logo for the team's 100th year. Asia Gholston, Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing for Ilitch Sports + Entertainment, released the following statement. The center ice fan vote, launched in partnership with Meijer, was a great way to get fans involved in Red Wings Centennial right from the start. Through an incredible response to this vote, fans have made it clear they're fired up for what's to come in celebrating 100 years of Hockeytown, which is only possible due to their unwavering support for the Winged Wheel. The Red Wings featured the 'Hockeytown' logo at Joe Louis Arena in 1996, which remained until the building's closure in 2017. The Red Wings then used the same logo in their 1st year at Little Caesars Arena, but since then have just utilized a large team logo. The Red Wings celebrate their 100th year in the NHL The Red Wings were founded in 1926, but are in the midst of the longest drought of postseason hockey in their history. Considering that they've now been around for 100 years, that postseason absence is a surprising statistic. Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman has started to feel some heat for having not been able to get the team to the postseason in each of his first 6 years on the job.
Kevin Durant typically has no filter when interacting with fans online. But this time, while answering fan questions on X, Durant inadvertently ended up taking a shot at Stephen Curry. When a fan asked him why he thinks Warriors fans hate him, he seemingly pointed at Curry's fans. "Them finals MVPs, they will never recover," said Durant in response. One of the biggest debates for Stephen Curry's legacy had been that until 2022, he hadn't won a Finals MVP award despite winning three NBA championships before that. In 2015, Andre Iguodala received the Finals MVP award instead of Curry, and in 2017 and 2018, Kevin Durant was awarded the Finals MVP, and not Curry. Therefore, Durant seems to believe that since he won two Finals MVPs over Curry, loyal Warriors fans who love Curry started criticizing Durant. This planted the seed that developed into Warriors fans disliking Durant, despite him winning two titles with them. Let's take a look at Durant and Curry's performance in 2017 and 2018 to see if Durant was really better than Curry in those two seasons' Finals runs against the Cavaliers. In the 2017 NBA Finals, Durant averaged 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in five games played. He shot 55.6% from the floor and 47.4% from beyond the three-point line. In the same year, Curry averaged 26.8 points, 9.4 assists, and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 44% from the field and 38.8% from beyond the arc. In the 2018 NBA Finals, Durant averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists as the Warriors swept the Cavaliers. He shot 52.6% from the field and 40.9% from beyond the three-point arc. Meanwhile, Curry averaged 27.5 points, 6.8 assists, and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 40.2% from the field and 41.5% from beyond the three-point line. In both seasons, it is evidently clear that Durant contributed a lot more than Curry in almost every aspect and hence was justified in being awarded the two Finals MVP awards. However, since Curry ended up not winning the Finals MVP award in four consecutive visits to the NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018, his fans unfairly blamed Kevin Durant for stealing the award from him. Curry and Durant have a lot of mutual respect, but his fans evidently drove Durant out of the Warriors. According to NBA Insider Marc Spears, the Warriors fans regularly gave Curry MVP chants, and that did not sit right with Durant until very late with the Warriors. Spears hinted that these chants made Durant feel like Warriors fans did not fully embrace him. If Warriors fans did not criticize Durant as much as they did, maybe Durant could have made a return to the Warriors now instead of joining the Rockets? The world of possibilities and "what-ifs" here is endless.
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!