Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - BREAKING: Cincinnati Bengals Select Cashius Howell 41st Overall | Bengals Keep ADDING To Defense

Episode Date: April 25, 2026

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell 41st Overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The pick is in. With the 41st pick in the 2026 NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Cashers Howell, The Edge from Texas A&M. Locked on NFL draft is sponsored by Calci. Trade draft picks in a live market with no house. Download the app, use code locked on, and get 10 bucks when you trade 10.

Calci trade on anything. I'm Teneyra Batis and I'm joined now by Jake Liskow from Locked on Bengals. And with the departure of Trey Hendrickson, did you feel like the Bengals were maybe going to go edge at 41? We've been talking a lot about linebacker and corner. And the question was essentially whether there would be an edge rusher that would be tantalizing enough for the Bengals to diverge from that plan. And from our understanding of what the Bengals priorities were, they were looking at Corner quite significantly. But Cassius Howell was a guy that I think they had a late first round radon most likely. And they were very excited to see him available.

He was the top of the board for them at some point leading up to the pick. And that was our expected pick for them as led up to pick 41. So they did have a couple of edge rushers in that mix where they were looking hard at linebacker and corner. But Edge was also certainly a priority as Duke Tobin has talked a lot this off season about improving the Bengals pass rush. Indeed. And with Cassius Howell, you feel like he's that immediate upgrade for this Bengals pass rush? what do you see that he really brings to the table for this defense? I think the biggest thing is that he's a piece that can rotate and he brings a different

style than what the Bengals have on the edge right now. They don't have guys that are winning with great getoff with the ghost move. And he's one of the top ghost move rushers in this class. And as far as I can remember in my time of covering this team of watching the Cincinnati Bengals, they haven't had this kind of edge rusher. They have been the power forward team in terms of edge. rushers, the Carlos Dunlaps, Michael Johnson's, and more recently, Miles Murphy, and Sharmar Stewart, these huge, monstrous physical specimens that also had that athleticism.

They've been looking for the size and speed combo on the edge. And here they go with a player who's a little bit smaller. He's in the 250s at the combine. He was up to 260, I think it is pro day, probably playing in the 250s. And like I said, winning with that speed rusher style. And so adding that element to the rotation where they've added Dexter Lawrence to anchor things on the inside and command all of that extra attention from offensive lines. They get a guy who, given the chance to go one-on-one, can win immediately with the get-off and that goes through. And when the ghost move lands, it's just so satisfying to watch.

Think of Bonn Miller going untouched around the corner, right? And if he can approximate that at any level, even if he is a little bit limited in the run game in the NFL, that's such a potent thing for the Bengals to add. to their defensive line rotation. Yeah. And speaking of having a little edge, Howell, of course, grew up as a Chiefs fan. He took note of the fact that they took Mason Thomas ahead of him and basically said, we'll see you when you see it.

Now you know, Jake, that the Bengals have kind of been one of those, the few teams in the NFL, especially on a consistent basis. It's actually had the Chief's number. So I feel like things just got a little bit chippier between these two teams. Yeah, I like that, adding that to the rivalry, just the chip on the shoulder. Immediately, I think he probably had some hopes of going in the first round as well. So there's going to be a little bit of that for Cassius Howl. Goes right around where he's projected by consensus.

He was projected, I think in the late 30s, goes 41. So I love to add to that. And for a guy who grew up a chief and to now be on the other side of that rivalry from the Bengal side of things, that adds some juice to it. That'll be fun. Yeah, cannot wait. Thanks, Jake. And for more on the Cincinnati Bengals, subscribe to Locked on Bingles wherever you get your podcast.

Thank you.