Tag: Cincinnati Bengals rookies

Bengals rookie’s comeback story hyped by NFL expert

Bengals fans are going to love this story and player.

The Cincinnati Bengals season is almost here, and the rookies taken in the draft will be playing their first professional snaps in the coming weeks.

For tight end Erick All, it won’t only be his first time playing professional football but the time in a while that he’s going to be injury-free, and one NFL expert believes the Bengals might have found themselves a very good tight end for fairly cheap.

Louis Riddick of ESPN tweeted before the draft that All can be great in the NFL if he can stay healthy.

“If the medicals (knee rehab, past back issues) are behind him, he is a starting caliber TE in the league that will be a problem as a route runner, and a very solid, versatile run blocker,” Riddick’s tweet read.

All suffered a back injury in 2022 when he was at Michigan, missing the rest of the season before he transferred to Iowa. Then he tore his ACL with the Hawkeyes in 2023, getting ruled out for the rest of the season.

But now he comes into this season in seemingly good health, and despite some good NFL veteran presence ahead of him on the depth chart in his rookie season, he could earn some playing time and show off what it was that made him a fourth round draft pick in April.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Bengals’ late-round pick keeps rising up depth chart at training camp

Yet another late Bengals pick continues to make an impact at camp.

It really feels like the Cincinnati Bengals hit on an A+ draft class this year.

Some of that has much to do with the performances of rookies drafted in the fifth round and beyond.

Fifth-rounder Josh Newton has put on a show at cornerback. Tight end Tanner McLachlan, taken in the sxith round, might just have a shot at the final roster. And seventh-round safety Daijahn Anthony has been one of the breakout players of camp.

And now it’s seventh-round pick Matt Lee’s turn.

The center out of Miami (Fla) impressed in his first preseason action and has now been promoted to the second team during camp practices.

Meaning, Lee already getting work with Jake Browning and the second team could say much about his final 53-man roster chances. He’s certainly got the early looks of a player who can push someone like Trey Hill for a spot.

And really, it’s not all that surprising. The Bengals had considered Lee as early as the fifth round. At the time of the pick, we had considered him a major steal in the seventh.

If nothing else, the quick rise of Lee is an affirmation of what many saw when the Bengals made the pick. And if things keep trending in this direction, he could very well be the center of the future when the team turns its eyes to life after Ted Karras.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]