Bengals Top Draft Pick Already Generating Early Buzz

"The Bengals drafted an Aggies pass rusher for the second year in a row, although Howell is very different than Shemar Stewart," Brugler wrote. "Howell can be overwhelmed at times at the point of attack, but he battles nonstop and will bring much needed juice to Cincinnati’s pass rush."

Howell has a few red flags, including short arms, but the film doesn't lie. He has an incredible motor and never seems to take a single second of any down off. He works for everything on the field and has been very impressive over the last year.

He will be a big part of the defensive line change Zac Taylor highlighted last week.

"We did it every way whether it was early in free agency, whether it was a release for a guy we loved, whether it was a trade, draft — I'm really excited about the group we've acquired," Taylor said while noting the Lawrence trade timing. "Sometimes you get caught up so much in the moment of the offseason and free agency, and the angst of it all, but a lot of our best years have happened similar to this where a guy just comes at you at times you really didn't expect it to happen.

"I can think of Vonn Bell, who kind of came to us later in the free agency period, and what a huge boost to our defense that was over the time he was here. It happens a lot of different ways, and this is what happened this year. I'm just really happy with the work that was done upstairs and the guys that they gave us to work with."

Landing Howell in the second round is a steal for the Bengals. He's a pure pass rusher with the ability to dominate early in his NFL career. He's going to be thrust into an impact role with the Bengals in his rookie year, so it won't be long before the fans can see what he's truly made out of.

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