While the Bengals await the debut of first-round pick Shemar Stewart, one defensive rookie is showing up, and showing out. Second-round ILB Demetrius Knight Jr. is making himself at home in the middle of their defense, and his teammates have noticed. According to veteran beat reporter Paul Dehner Jr., he seems to be just what they need.
“The Bengals found exactly what they were looking for in second-round pick Demetrius Knight Jr.,” he observed for The Athletic. “The linebacker was slotted into the starting spot alongside Logan Wilson immediately and brought stability despite this being his first time on an NFL practice field. He’s older (24) with more experience, which made his addition look and feel more like a free-agent signing than draft pick. Players view him as a future leader of the defense already and with all captains gone from last year’s group, defensive coordinator Al Golden is on the hunt for exactly that.”
Jonathan Heitritter scouted Demetrius Knight Jr. for us and assessed him as a third-round prospect. Deemed a potential starter and good backup, it seems the Bengals envision more for him right away. By the looks of things, they are counting on him being a Day-1 starter.
Notably, the Bengals released starter Germaine Pratt earlier this offseason, the sixth-year veteran subsequently signing with the Las Vegas Raiders. Pratt logged over 4,500 snaps for the Bengals defense over the past five seasons, including a career-high 1,078 last year. Also gone after five seasons is Akeem Davis-Gaither, who started seven games last year.
That just leaves Logan Wilson and the rookie, Demetrius Knight Jr., to step in and fill a void. A Steelers favorite, Knight does have NFL bloodlines. His cousin is former NFL CB DeAngelo Hall. As a bonus, he is also distantly related to Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, so he has that going for him. It won’t help the Bengals any, but he is already earning respect. We’ll find out what that means to them shortly.
Notably, Knight initially joined Shemar Stewart in declining to sign an injury waiver to participate in practice. Unlike Stewart, the Bengals’ second-round pick soon reversed course and participated in most of the offseason.
Knight played for many schools throughout his college career, going back to 2019. He finished his career at South Carolina last season, recording 82 tackles with two sacks, an interception, and three forced fumbles. He also intercepted three passes the year before, attracting the Bengals to his playmaking potential.
It’s worth noting that there is a logjam for second-round contracts this year. For the first time, multiple second-round picks have negotiated fully guaranteed contracts. As a result, the rest of the second-round picks are hesitant to sign without matching that. Knight remains one of them for the Bengals, along with almost all of the rest of the league.
