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After missing the playoffs for the second straight season, the Cincinnati Bengals returned to the drawing board in the 2025 offseason, resulting in significant changes to their unofficial depth chart. Their typical core returns, but the team made an effort to replace just about as much of its supporting cast as possible.
Whether those changes benefit them remains to be seen, but the Bengals were clearly determined to make them. While Cincinnati returned its starting offensive skill players, it projects to start two new offensive linemen and is slated to begin the year with five new first-team defenders.
The Bengals have already overhauled their offensive line on multiple occasions in the Joe Burrow era. They did not completely turn the unit over in the 2025 offseason but made a couple of noticeable changes. Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims return on the edges as does Ted Karras at center, but Cincinnati replaced its two starting guards.
Defensively, the Bengals lost two of their three starting linebackers in free agency as well as two key members of their secondary. However, arguably the unit's most significant loss was seven-year veteran defensive end Sam Hubbard, who semi-surprisingly announced his retirement in March. The team is replacing him internally, elevating 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy to the starting lineup.
Cincinnati is clearly committed to its talented offensive corps but continues to seek answers at nearly every other position. With just a few weeks remaining until the regular season, the Bengals' 2025 depth chart still seems like an unfinished product that could change at any given moment. However, a few current starters have much less job security than others.
RT Amarius Mims
The Bengals overhauled their offensive line yet again in the 2025 offseason yet somehow left Amarius Mims in the starting lineup. Mims was arguably the team's worst starter in 2024, but he will return for another year.
Mims was not just one of the worst blockers on the team in 2024. He was one of the worst offensive linemen in the NFL. In 15 games, he allowed 33 total pressures, including four sacks. He posted those numbers despite often lining up against the opposing defense's No. 2 pass-rusher.
As bad as his pass-blocking was, Mims' run-blocking was even worse. He struggled to create gaps and get into the second level. The deficiencies gave Mims a 57.8 player grade from Pro Football Focus, ranking in the bottom 30 percent of all offensive tackles.
After allowing Burrow to be sacked 48 times in 2024, the second-most of his career, the Bengals chose to replace their two guards. Three-year starter Cordell Volson returns, but Cincinnati lists rookie Dylan Fairchild and former New Orleans Saints starter Lucas Patrick atop its depth chart.
The changes keep Mims in the starting lineup but with a short leash. Fans already put him on blast during the preseason as the worst part of a viral clip that surfaced from the team's win against the Washington Commanders. During the play, Mims, No. 71, blew a double-team block before standing around in confusion as Burrow ran for his life and nearly into his own end zone.
Bengals: let’s play Joe in preseason to start hot
Bengals OL: pic.twitter.com/Wnhbegi8gT
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 19, 2025
Mims, a 2024 first-round pick, is still just 22 years old. There is ample time for him to develop into the player that scouts saw potential in, but exactly how high his ceiling is was debatable to begin with. Mims only started 12 games in his three-year college career. The talent was evident on his tape, but Mims was always a high-risk project who seems to be playing out his worst-case scenario.
DE Myles Murphy
Unfortunately for Myles Murphy, the timing does not seem to be right for him on the Bengals' 2025 depth chart. Although Hubbard's retirement allowed him to finally crack into the starting lineup, it is difficult to imagine him holding onto that spot for too long.
Murphy has been against the odds since the 2023 NFL Draft when he joined a Cincinnati team that already had two established edge rushers. Although clearly one of the most talented defenders of his draft class, playing time has come at a premium behind Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson.
With Hubbard retiring and Hendrickson's standing with the team in question, the position is suddenly wide open. The Bengals list Murphy as a starter along with longtime backup Joseph Ossai. However, he now has to fend off 2025 first-rounder Shemar Stewart.
Like Henderson, Stewart has spent much of the offseason at odds with the front office. There were even talks of him bailing on the team altogether, but he has since joined the franchise and begun practicing. Had he been with the team all along, Stewart would likely be a part of the starting lineup as the rookie has reportedly done nothing but wreak havoc on the Bengals' shoddy offensive line.
It seems like only a matter of time before Stewart joins the starting lineup. If that is the case, it will be Murphy, not Ossai, whose snaps will suffer as a result.
The Bengals have invested more in Murphy, but Ossai has been more efficient on the field thus far. Since missing his entire rookie season with a knee injury, Ossai has done nothing but improve each year. His gradual progression culminated with a career-high 46 tackles and five sacks in 2024, topping Murphy in both categories.
The Bengals will be more aggressive defensively in 2025 under new defensive coordinator Al Golden than they were under Lou Anarumo. Perhaps Murphy makes a third-year leap, but Stewart and Ossai seem to be better fits so far than he is.
