In the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft, all the talk around the Cincinnati Bengals was centered on what they would do with the 10th overall pick, and particularly how they would use that to bolster their defense. The possibility always remained that they would cash in that pick for a win-now defensive piece, and that is exactly what they did by bringing in Dexter Lawrence via trade.
While they traded out of the first round, the Bengals still were focused on adding to the defense with pick number 41. And that is exactly what they did on Friday night, drafting defensive end Cashius Howell out of Texas A&M.
Howell is listed at 6'2½", 253 lbs. He's from Kansas City, MO and entered the draft as a senior. NFL.com gave him a prospect grade of 6.38, which falls in the "Will eventually be plus starter" tier. His Next Gen Stats total score is 76 (Good), with a Production Score of 74 (12th among 2026 Combine DE/EDGE) and an estimated Athleticism Score of 71 (17th), giving him a 9th overall ranking in his position group at the Combine.
His unofficial Combine results: 4.59 in the 40, 1.58 10-yard split, 32.5" vertical, and 9'7" broad jump.
Speaking after the pick, Bengals Assistant GM Mike Potts shared his excitement.
"We're fired up to add Cashius to our pass rush — adds a lot of juice here in the second round," he began. "And then on top of what we did with the Dexter Lawrence trade, obviously, it gives us a lot of guys up front to really fortify our defense."
Potts added, "We're fired up about what Cashius is going to bring in terms of the pass rush, and we like his physicality and his instincts in the run game as well. So we couldn't be more fired up. He's a guy that we had targeted throughout the process, and we did a lot of work on him throughout this whole spring. So we couldn't be more fired up right now."
Defensive coordinator Al Golden also spoke, saying, "We did so much work... he was far and away the highest guy we had. Couldn't believe he kept falling to us."
Howell spent three seasons at Bowling Green before transferring. He redshirted in 2021 (4 games, 6 tackles), played as a reserve in 2022 (13 games, 22 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 2 sacks, 1 PBU), and broke out in 2023 with Third-team All-MAC honors, leading the team with 9.5 sacks across 13 games and 11 starts (28 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, 1 PBU, 1 FF).
In 2024 he played all 13 games with 1 start (40 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 4 sacks, 1 INT, 7 PBUs, 1 FF). In 2025 he was named First-team Associated Press All-American, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and first-team All-SEC.
Howell was also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, and Lombardi Award. He led his team with 14 TFLs, tied for seventh in FBS with 11.5 sacks, and started all 13 games (31 tackles, 6 PBUs, 1 FF).