It’s no secret that the Cincinnati Bengals want to improve along the defensive line. After all, it was their major focus of the offseason, which included using a second-round pick, the first pick the Bengals had, on edge rusher Cashius Howell out of Texas A&M.
Now, with the calendar turning to June, Howell is looking to find a way to transition to the NFL. That’s meant learning from the veterans Cincinnati does have. In particular, he would single out Boye Mafe.
“He’s giving me inklings on the field. Things I can look at to help me play faster,” Howell said, according to Geoff Hobson. “We definitely have a lot of traits in common.”
A season ago, while playing for Texas A&M, Howell had 11.5 sacks and 14.0 tackles for a loss. That came in 13 games and would help him secure All-American honors. The Bengals would use the 41st overall pick on him.
Interestingly, he’s leaning on Mafe. 2026 will be Mafe’s first season with the Bengals. He has been in the NFL since 2022, but spent his entire career up to this point with the Seattle Seahawks, including winning the Super Bowl there a season ago.
The Cincinnati Bengals Still Need to Sign Cashius Howell
GettyCashius Howell at the NFL Combine
The 2025 offseason was marred by the inability to sign Shemar Stewart. Also coming out of Texas A&M, Stewart was a first-round pick who did not practice with the Cincinnati Bengals until he had his contract signed, costing him a good amount of time. That led to a regular season where he struggled and battled injuries.
The Bengals don’t want a repeat of that situation again with Cashius Howell. Still, he remains unsigned.
If there’s a silver lining to this, it’s that Howell is practicing. His approach, to this point, has been a complete turnaround from Stewart a season ago.
“I love football,” Cashius Howell said in early May. “At the end of the day, regardless of negotiations still being intact, I love football. So I wanted to do everything I could in my power to put myself in the best position to go out there and give everything I can, with the football, with the talking, communication. Just every aspect. Regardless of the contract not being negotiated fully, doesn’t really matter to me.”
It’s great that Howell is ready to practice without the contract. At the same time, it’s hard to imagine the Bengals want to test that for much longer.
The Bengals Have a New-Look Defensive Line
GettyFormer New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence trying to make a play during an NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The clear focus this offseason was to reset the defensive line. Whether or not they succeeded remains to be seen.
The Bengals let star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson walk in free agency this offseason. He’d land with the Baltimore Ravens, but the Bengals responded by making several moves along their own line. That included adding Cashius Howell, who is hoping to replace at least some of Hendrickson’s production, though replacing him entirely is not an easy task for a rookie.
The other major move that the Bengals made was to trade the No. 10 overall pick to the New York Giants for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. He’ll be on the interior, whereas a player like Howell will be on the exterior of the line.
Beyond those two, the Bengals also added Boye Mafe as an edge rusher and Jonathan Allen as a defensive tackle. Again, they’ll add to the veteran presence along the line that young players like Howell and Stewart can hopefully develop behind.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Bengals Edge Cashius Howell on Learning from Veterans, Boye Mafe appeared first on HEAVY.