Pro Football Focus identifies best Day 2 target for Bengals in 2025 NFL Draft

There has been plenty of talk regarding what the Cincinnati Bengals should do with their top overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft, but there has been less talk about potential options regarding their Day 2 picks.

For those unfamiliar with the draft schedule, the first round takes place on the first night, while the second and third rounds take place on the second night and the final four rounds occur on the third and final day.

When it comes to that second night, the knowledgable people over at Pro Football Focus identified the top target for each team in the league. For Cincinnati, the pick was defensive end Jack Sawyer from Ohio State.

Bengals should set their sights on Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer

This makes a lot of sense, as the Bengals desperately need to improve a pass rush that recorded just 36 team sacks last season. Sawyer was a two-time Second-Team All-BIG Player and he helped Ohio State reach the mountaintop last season. Given his success at the collegiate level, he projects as a player who could come in and contribute immediately for Cincinnati, which is exactly what the team needs.

Here's what PFF had to say about the Bengals potentially targeting Sawyer on the draft's second night:

"Sawyer wouldn’t have to travel far with this projection. Given the Bengals' uncertainty on the edge with disgruntled pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, grabbing a high-floor player like Sawyer would be the perfect plug-and-play option at 4-3 defensive end in Cincinnati’s scheme. The senior pass rusher notched a 90.7 PFF pass-rush grade on true pass sets in 2024."

Many mock drafts see Cincinnati selecting an edge rusher in the first round of the draft, but even if they go in that direction, it doesn't mean that they couldn't double-dip at the position, given its dire state. They could potentially draft a high-end edge rusher on the first night and still snag Sawyer if he's available on the second night.

The Bengals also have several other key areas of need, and given the fact that they have just six total picks in the draft, they need to be judicious with those picks. Does using two of their first three picks on edge rushers fall under that umbrella? That's something that the front office will have to decide.