Expectations continue to climb for Cincinnati Bengals rookie Cashius Howell before he has even played his first regular-season snap.
CBS Sports’ John Breech made Howell his pick to win the 2026 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award as part of his preseason predictions. Breech also projected Cincinnati to finish 11-6 and earn an AFC wild-card berth.
The reasoning centers largely on the situation surrounding Howell.
"The easiest way for a defensive player to win this award is to rack up sacks, and Howell is in the perfect position to do it," Breech wrote. "With Dexter Lawrence now on the team, you can pretty much bet that every offense the Bengals play this year will be worried about slowing down Lawrence."
Additionally, Cincinnati faces several
opponents that struggled to protect their quarterbacks last season.
The Bengals selected the Texas A&M product with the No. 41 overall pick after he recorded 11.5 sacks in 2025, won SEC Defensive Player of the Year and earned first-team AP All-America honors.
Howell has generated considerable buzz inside the organization as well, with his first NFL summer only adding to the expectations. Bengals radio broadcaster Dan Hoard named Howell his top newcomer of training camp and wrote that the rookie had been “a handful” for blockers.
Howell, too, recovered a fumble in Cincinnati’s preseason opener against Detroit.
In the end, a Defensive Rookie of the Year-caliber season from Howell would go a long way toward making the Bengals' defensive repairs count.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals rookie Cashius Howell predicted to win major award
