Injuries helped Bengals sign two undrafted free agents who had strong chances of being picked in the 2025 NFL Draft

The Cincinnati Bengals didn't have a seventh-round draft pick at their disposal this year, which gave them a full round of the 2025 NFL Draft to prepare for college free agency.

They put that preparation to good use. 

Headlining Cincinnati's 2025 undrafted free agency class are two players who had real chances of hearing their names called sometime Saturday afternoon. It was the Bengals who called them before the draft concluded to confirm their intentions of signing them once all 257 picks were submitted.  

And if it weren't for past injuries, they probably wouldn't have made it to undrafted free agency. 

Bengals signing multiple UDFAs who could've easily been drafted

Two of the very first reported UDFA signings for Cincinnati were Notre Dame defensive tackle Howard Cross III and Ohio State center Seth McLaughlin. 

Cross was the 258th ranked player in this year's class according to a consensus of big boards and was regarded as a potential late-round pick. 

The reason why the Bengals landed Cross obviously starts with his alma mater. Defensive coordinator Al Golden coached Cross for the last three years when he was the DC in South Bend. When he had his pick of where to sign after the draft, he landed on the team that employs his former coach and only four other defensive tackles at the time of his agreeing to sign. Starters B.J. Hill and T.J. Slaton are backed up by last year's draft picks Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson.

Cross will have a good chance of making the team due to the thin position group he's joining, and McLaughlin can't be counted out, either. The former Buckeye and Alabama starter was rated as the best player to not be drafted according to ESPN.