Bengals' familiar and trusted source delivered the best kind of endorsement for top draft pick Cashius Howell

The Bengals’ scouting of Howell including a valuable nugget from Moffitt, in which he was compared to Cincy’s franchise players in a very positive manner.

“I don’t think Cashius Howell was quite the player he is now when he just got there out of Bowling Green,” Bengals assistant general manager Mike Potts told The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. “Their strength staff as well, Tommy Moffitt was their guy at LSU forever, so he has great comparisons. He coached Peyton Manning back in the day. He coached, obviously, Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, and a lot of these guys. And another nugget from him that I don’t think he’d be upset with sharing on Cashius’ drive. He compared him to some of those great players in terms of work ethic and drive. So, just putting all of the process together through all of our guys, it was a guy that we really developed an affinity for throughout the process.”

Cashius Howell Stats & Facts

Cincinnati drafted Howell with the No. 41 pick in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

• Howell was born and raised in Kansas City, Mo. He grew up a Kansas City Chiefs fan, and attended Bowling Green State University the first three years of his college career.
• Texas A&M landed Howell in the transfer portal exiting the 2023 season. The then 21-year old played alongside Shemar Stewart for the Aggies.
• Howell was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2025 after racking up 14.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks.

Hidden layer of confidence in Cincy’s top pick

The tape, production, and athleticism data all support Howell being a high quality prospect. It’s the intel scouts and executives like Potts have access to that really puts a player evaluation over the top.

Cincinnati has seen first-hand the work ethic Burrow and Chase possess, and how it’s helped make them top players at their respective positions. Moffitt grouping Howell with the best teammates he’s about to have is very promising news, and definitely supports the Bengals’ first-round grade on him.

“To get him there is huge,” Ramsey told Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson. “We were already discussing him in the first round if we were able to move back, and maybe even if we got picked over at No. 10. That’s the kind of player we see him.”

Moffitt and the Bengals are familiar with each other considering how many of his former players have become Bengals. His word on the matter carries much weight, and it’s fair to say it helped the club land on Howell as its first actual draft pick last week.