Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Kris Jenkins Jr. needs the biggest second year leap in Cincinnati

Bengals roster breakdown is back! During the 99 days leading up to Cincinnati's regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the player with the matching jersey number as days remaining will become the day's highlighted player.

90 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, which means it's time to spotlight No. 90, Kris Jenkins Jr. 

Kris Jenkins Jr.

• Age: 23
• Year: 2nd
• Position: Defensive tackle
• College: Michigan
• Previous Teams: None
• Jersey Number: 90

Jenkins, the son of former NFL All-Pro DT Kris Jenkins, enters his second season with the Bengals after being drafted 49th overall in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He played in 15 games (nine starts) during his rookie season in Cincinnati, recording 31 tackles, three tackles for loss, and three sacks.

Like many defensive linemen for Cincinnati, Jenkins began the year injured as he suffered a thumb injury in the days leading up to Week 1. He made his debut in Week 3 with a club covering his hand and managed to play the rest of the season.

The Bengals knew they were going to rely on Jenkins plenty last year, but starting him for half the season wasn't exactly their plan. Sheldon Rankins coming down with viral meningitis thrusted Jenkins next to B.J. Hill for the final seven weeks of the season. His production didn't exactly take a jump as only four rookie DTs had more pass-rushing snaps than the 260 reps Jenkins had last year, but seven finished the year with more pressures than his 11. His best game came against the Cleveland Browns in Week 16 as he posted a season-high two sacks and two defensive stops.

Contract Details

Jenkins is in the second year of his four-year, $7,860,464 rookie contract. He will earn a guaranteed base salary of $1,152,294 for the 2025 season, which also represents his total cash earnings for the year.

When adding on his signing bonus proration of $634,175, Jenkins' cap hit for the season will be $1,786,469.

Roster Outlook

You could make the argument Jenkins' presence is why the Bengals didn't do more to address the defensive tackle position this offseason. Drafting one in the second round a year ago is a notable investment, and Jenkins certainly played enough as a rookie to give him a base to improve upon this year.

Jenkins is quite safe to make the team thanks to a guaranteed salary attached to his name. Opportunity will be there for him as he's directly behind Hill in the rotation at 3-technique, but he needs to make strides as a pass-rusher this season for the team to feel comfortable about him for the future. Playing with two free hands for an entire season should also help.

Ideally, Jenkins becomes the answer Cincinnati desperately needs for interior pass rush. There are other members of the Bengals' 2024 draft class who need to improve in their second years such as Amarius Mims and Jermaine Burton, but the former played relatively better as a rookie and the latter isn't as high up on the depth chart as Jenkins. 

Last year's second-rounder has arguably the most pressure on him to make significant strides out of all players in his shoes.

Projected role: Rotational defensive tackle

Previous Player Profiles

• No. 99: Myles Murphy
• No. 98: T.J. Slaton Jr.
• No. 97: Shemar Stewart
• No. 96: Cam Sample
• No. 95: Howard Cross III
• No. 94: Eric Gregory
• No. 93: McKinnley Jackson
• No. 92: B.J. Hill
• No. 91: Trey Hendrickson