Geoff Hobson

When the Bengals unveiled their 2025 rookie free agents Friday morning, the sense is they're looking at one of their better undrafted classes in the last few years.

It certainly contains more players than usual with draftable grades for a variety of reasons.

"There are a lot of different avenues these college players have to maximize their careers," says Trey Brown, Bengals senior personnel executive. "The guys have an opportunity to go back to school and get more playing time, get more experience, or maybe go back for financial reasons with NIL opportunities, or maybe they have an extra year because of COVID.

"All of the above are reasons why there are more guys in this year's draft class who had draft grades and ultimately didn't get drafted."

Ten of the Bengals' CFAs played at least five collegiate seasons. And Ohio State center Seth McLaughlin was a consensus top-125 pick even though he tore his Achilles' in a November practice. The rookie class ranges from second-round pick Demetrius Knight Jr., who turns 25 during the first week of training camp, to first-round pick Shemar Stewart, who doesn't turn 22 until mid-November.

"Those are the guys we want to target. The guys we have real draft grades on. That's where we start. Trying to get them to the roster," Brown says of the college free agents. "We use the same process we use on the guys we draft. How do they fit our scheme, and can they make an impact?"

A look at the Bengals' 2025 CFAs:

DT DANTE BARNETT

COLLEGE:Dickinson

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:6-1, 275

HOMETOWN:Birmingham, United Kingdom

DOB:2//11/03

Product of international football program played five games in 2022 season at Division III Dickinson College with seven tackles and a sack Part of a program at IMG in Bradenton, Fla., working with former college and NFL scouts on position and combine drills Won't count against the 90-man roster Could be a practice squad exemption if he doesn't crack 53-man roster

SCOUT's TAKE:Has a football background He excelled at the pro day for the International Pathway Program players Ran a 4.68 40 at 275 pounds Looked really athletic moving around in drills . Had impressive clips from Dickinson Has upside and talent to work with Let's see how he develops

RB QUALI CONLEY

COLLEGE:Arizona

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:5-10, 211

HOMETOWN:Fresno, Calif.

DOB:9/25/02

Led Arizona in 2024 rushing with 745 yards for eight TDs with a high of 112 yards against Northern Arizona on 17 carries Also played a season at San Jose State and two seasons at Utah Tech Four-year total of 310 carries for 1,729 yards with 71 catches for 616 yards and 20 TDs At Central High School led the All-Valley league in rushing in back-to-back seasons

SCOUT'S TAKE:Blue-collar . Tough Hard-nosed High football IQ Solid in almost every category Runs hard Good lower body strength Runs through tackles Developmental upside in pass-pro

DT HOWARD CROSS III

Played in 64 games across six seasons Last three years played for Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden . Had best year in '23 with 66 tackles, seven for loss, two breakups, two forced fumbles ... Missed three games with an ankle injury heading into '24 playoffs, but bounced back to play the most snaps of any Fighting Irish defensive lineman in national semis and championship game Helped St. Joseph High School to New Jersey state championship in 2018 while being named NJ.com state player of the year Father Howard Cross Jr., sideline reporter for Giants' radio broadcasts, spent 13 years as tight end with Big Blue and won a ring. One of 17 career TDs came against Bengals

COLLEGE:Notre Dame

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:6-1, 285

HOMETOWN:Paramus, N.J.

DOB:7/31/01

SCOUT'S TAKE:He got a Senior Bowl invite after the '23 season, but chose to go back to school ...Played multiple sports and is a good athlete at that size Good interior pass rusher, where he's got double-digit sacks . With Al his college defensive coordinator, and growing up around the game, he comes in knowing what's expected of him

LT CALEB ETIENNE

All-Big 12 First Team 2024 Before starting all 12 games at left tackle last season, played right tackle and guard in 2023 started all 13 games at Oklahoma State in 2022 Named first-team National Junior College All-American at Fort Scott, where offense averaged 23.2 points and 132.9 rushing yards per game Ranked second-best junior college tackle in nation before going to Oklahoma State in 2021 Has three-year-old son and fiance is a respiratory therapist

COLLEGE:Brigham Young

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:6-7, 329

HOMETOWN:New Orleans, La.

DOB:8/29/01

SCOUT's TAKE:Built the way you want NFL tackles built Long . Big wingspan Good athlete Great player to pair up with starting tackles Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims in terms of those guys being positive influences on a big, young tackle A lot of traits you look for in starting tackles Ran 5.01-second 40 36-inch arms If he puts it together, has athletic upside to do it

DT ERIC GREGORY

44 career starts in five seasons for Razorbacks with 9.5 sacks 19 tackles for loss Had career-high 1.5 sacks and five tackles, plus made final tackle in win over No. 4 Tennessee last season In 2020 as red-shirt freshman, picked off Tennessee quarterback Harrison Bailey for first interception by an Arkansas defensive lineman since 2013 Finished high school career at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. IMG went 7-1 and he had 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss

COLLEGE:Arkansas

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:6-3, 319

HOMETOWN:Memphis, Tenn.

DOB:9/13/00

SCOUT'S TAKE:Showed up well at the East-West All-Star Game More of your two-down run-stuffer . True nose tackle who takes on double-teams and plays big Three-year starter who has played a lot of football in six years . He's played as big as you need He's been to 335 and held it Good body Good interview Motivated

CB BRALYN LUX

According to Pro Football Focus, last season opponents completed only 58.5% of their passes against him In 2023, was the second-highest graded defensive player on the team Foes targeted him in coverage 58 times with only 27 completions for a 47% completion percentage, per PFF Also played 101 snaps on special teams as a regular member of the kickoff and punt return unit Played 27 games the previous three years at Fresno State helped Fresno to two wins over ranked opponents in 2021 for the first time since '04 and the first time ever on road In COVID-shortened 2020 season, led Bulldogs in tackles 3,744 all-purpose yards in his three-year, two-way prep career at King's Academy, where he set the school long jump record

COLLEGE:Texas Tech

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:5-10, 180

HOMETOWN:San Jose, Calif.

DOB:8-28-00

SCOUT'S TAKE:Coached by former Bengals secondary coach Kevin Coyle at Fresno...In the entire cornerback class, his short shuttle and his ten-yard split in the 40-yard dash are top ten Physical Can play press like a Coyle corner must You like the raw athlete who has double-digit special teams tackle production Competitive

WR JAMOI MAYES

Went to UC for a year after he racked up 123 catches for 1,963 yards and eight touchdowns in his four seasons at Chattanooga Went for 62 catches with 1,037 yards and four TDs in 2023 when he helped them to their deepest FCS playoff run since 2016 At UC this last year, had 29 catches for 349 yards and one TD in 12 games Had a 52-yard TD catch against Pitt in first UC start Three catches for 40 yards in win over Big 12 Champ Arizona State

COLLEGE:Cincinnati

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:5-10, 206

HOMETOWN:Griffin, Ga.

DOB:8/23/02

SCOUT's TAKE:Highly productive player at Chattanooga Well-built Tough Competitive Impressed at local workout in Bengals' IEL Indoor Facility

C SETH McLAUGHLIN

Despite tearing Achilles' in November, named Rimington Trophy winner as college football's outstanding center Consensus All-American Ohio State's offense ranked seventh nationally in fewest TFLs allowed per game and 10th in fewest sacks allowed per game He and Donovan Jackson became the third and fourth players in Ohio State history to earn first-team All-America honors as a player and first-team Academic All-America honors, joining Bob White in 1958 and Randy Gradishar in 1973 Across four seasons he started 34 games at Alabama and Ohio State, played in 45 games and was on four teams that made the College Football Playoffs Graduated in 2.5 years from Alabama with a 4.0 grade point average and a degree in finance Alabama finished with a top-10 ranked scoring offense in three of his four seasons

COLLEGE:Ohio State

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:6-4, 304

SCOUT'S TAKE:Certainly had a draftable grade if he didn't get hurt Tough Smart Quick Highly consistent Very active Plays with great leverage Good athlete Good movement .. Doesn't have a dominant physical trait, but a really good player who has started for three seasons at two blueblood programs of college football

HOMETOWN:Buford, Ga.

DOB:8/27/01

WR JORDAN MOORE

Team captain and MVP in 2024 ... Three-time Academic All-ACC ...Tied for fifth in Duke history in career touchdown receptions, seventh in catches, 10th in receiving yards ... One of four Duke players to have three seasons with at least five receiving TDs In 49 career games (35 starts), racked up 177 catches for 2,352 yards, 13.2 yards per catch, 21 TDs also rushed 52 times for 256 yards on 4.9 yards per with three TDs ... completed nine of 19 passing for 95 yards and a TD ... Graduated with degree in psychology and certificate in markets and management father holds all-time career goals and points for soccer at Goucher College

COLLEGE:Duke

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:6-0, 191

Hometown:Sykesville, Md.

DOB:4/18/02

SCOUT's TAKE:Instinctive Great body control and hands . Good route runner Good run after catch Probably went undrafted because he's an average tester But a really good football player Looks like a Ronnie Bell-type, a 2023 seventh-rounder out of Michigan still with 49ers .

WR RASHOD OWENS

Multi-sport athlete who came to Stillwater and ended up playing both tight end and wide receiver for the Cowboys Best year was 2023 with 63 catches for 895 yards and five touchdowns First wide receiver in history to win Texas Bowl MVP honors with 10 catches for a Texas Bowl-record 164 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Texas A&M That same season, served as a captain against Cincinnati Also served as captain in final Homecoming Game last year San Antonio Express News San Antonio Athlete of the Year as a high school senior Recorded Texas' best high school triple jump as a junior during 2019 outdoor season with jump of 49- 10.75, ranked No. 11 in the United States for the season

COLLEGE:Oklahoma State

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:6-2, 218

HOMETOWN:San Antonio, Tex.

DOB:12/7/01

SCOUT'S TAKE:An interesting player A five-year guy who moved positions a bit In 2022, he played some tight end Became starting X wide receiver in '23 and became No. 1 receiver when their starter went down In '24 he settled in at 230-235 pounds Big body for receiver who can play some tight end Big catch radius Big hands Top five in bench press for wide receivers Auden Tate-ish Real production They didn't ask him to do a lot of it, but he's got the size, the length, the strength, the physicality to play special teams Plays with a chip on his shoulder . Shows up after the catch some More than a big receiver He's got a line of scrimmage lower body

TE KOLE TAYLOR

Played in 58 career games with 30 starts for LSU, then West Virginia 95 career catches for 1,051 yards and eight touchdowns Ranks No. 4 among WVU tight ends with 78 catches Taylor's 43 catches last year ranked No. 2 on WVU's single-season list Had 17 catches in 32 games during three years at LSU Became first Colorado prep player to sign directly with LSU since at least 1970

COLLEGE:West Virginia

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:6-7, 250

HOMETOWN:Grand Junction, Colo.

DOB:10/17/01

SCOUT's TAKE:Big, long pass catcher Good hands Good high point Excels as catcher of 50-50 balls

QB PAYTON THORNE

Threw for 37 touchdowns against 19 picks and nearly 4,000 yards in last two seasons at Auburn Threw for 338 yards vs. Oklahoma State last year . 11-13 as starter Transferred from Michigan State, where he went 16-10 as starter Ranks in Spartans' career top 10 in passing touchdowns, completion percentage, passing yards, pass completions, pass attempts, passing efficiency Captain for two years each at Auburn and Michigan State Father Jeff coached North Central College to its first NCAA Division III national championship in 2019 Grandfather John Thorne, longtime coach, is in North Central College Athletics Hall of Fame Grandfather Dave Martin played football at Wisconsin

COLLEGE:Auburn

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:6-2, 207

HOMETOWN:Naperville, Ill.

DOB:6/26/01

SCOUT's TAKE:Fierce competitor Has a lot of experience in college ranks Took command of multiple offenses at multiple schools Has understanding of how to distribute the ball Smart Tough Reliable

LS WILLIAM WAGNER

Snapped in 53 games for the Wolverines Snapped all 15 games for the 2023 national champions and then all 13 last year, when he was a finalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award given to the nation's best long snapper, Florida's Rocco Underwood won it Bengals incumbent long snapper Cal Adomitis won it in 2021 Has undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and a master's in manufacturing mechanical engineering

COLLEGE:Michigan

HEIGHT & WEIGHT:6-2, 245

HOMETOWN:Alpharetta, Ga.

DOB:12/20/00

SCOUT's TAKE:Thick, strong kid who protects well on field goals and punting Good recoverability in protections Good velocity on his snaps Good pace Quick release