2025 NFL Mock Draft: Full first-round mock with few quarterbacks taken

13. Cincinnati Bengals - Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan

What has happened to the Cincinnati Bengals?  As we head into Week 11 of the 2024 NFL Season, the Bengals are 4-6 and currently out of a playoff spot.  Well, what’s happened is their defense is just… bad.

The Bengals front office has clearly missed on some recent defensive draft picks, and it feels like this team cannot do anything right on defense besides whatever Trey Hendrickson does.  Cincy is also currently wasting the best year of Joe Burrow’s career, so this is a huge shame.

Their roster needs are not a mystery, so in this 2025 NFL mock draft, I went with Kenneth Grant, the talented defensive tackle from Michigan.  Grant can hopefully shore up the Bengals defensive line for the future, and this team would be among the best in the NFL even if their defense was just average.

So it’s not like the Bengals need to go out and find the next 1985 Bears here.  They simply need to be competent enough on that side of the ball.

14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are kind of like the Cincinnati Bengals in that both teams are fielding high-flying offenses with their QBs having career years, but both teams are 4-6 and out of the playoff picture at this point.  The Buccaneers need help all across their defense, but I started with CB Benjamin Morrison from Notre Dame in this NFL mock draft.

Does anyone find it weird that the Bucs traded CB Carlton Davis to the Detroit Lions this past offseason?  Anyway, it’s clear that Baker Mayfield knows what he’s doing, as he’s played like a top-7 QB since signing with the Bucs back in 2023.

The defense could be the missing formula for them being able to make a playoff run, and to be fair, this team did make an appearance in the NFC Divisional Round, so they are no slouches at all.