'He knows ball' — Ja'Marr Chase and Orlando Brown Jr. can't believe how impressed they are by Bengals rookie starter

Knight, Cincinnati's second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft , has been one of the defense's starting backers since he first took the practice field in May. Defensive coordinator Al Golden targeted him in the draft to take the place of Germaine Pratt, who was later released in June.

So far, so great on that front.

Knight has handled starting duties next to potential captain Logan Wilson for the last three months without much issue. Staying above water is good enough for most rookies. Impressing the best veterans on the other side of the ball is the standard Knight is setting before he's even played a preseason game.

Golden signed off on picking Knight 49th overall with the vision of him hitting the ground running. He just turned 25 years old right before camp began, but he only started two years in college and only one year at a Power 4 program. Hitting a steep learning curve was a possibility for Knight, but that hasn't been the case thus far.

If Chase and Brown are impressed, there's no telling what opponents will think when Knight is diagnosing their plays in the weeks to come.