When the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Cashius Howell this year, it reignited the production vs. upside draft debate while he reunited with former college teammate Shemar Stewart.
Howell is off to the races and winning the debate in a hurry after his NFL pro debut in Thursday night’s preseason win over the Detroit Lions.
A super-productive player in college, as opposed to the limited production but super-high apparent ceiling of Stewart, Howell looked about as pro-ready as it gets against the Lions. He had at least one notable pressure early and recovered a fumble.
It was enough to get someone like longtime NFL reporter Charean Williams to write this during the game: “Not a bad bet to put money on Cashius Howell to win Defensive Player of the Year. This kid knows how to get to the quarterback.”
Not a bad deal. Bengals fans probably didn’t hope much that Howell’s name would pop in Defensive Player of the Year conversations. They just wanted to see a productive edge rusher join the roster and meet or match expectations, unlike recent big investments like Stewart and Myles Murphy (so far, anyway).
It’s just one preseason game and this is getting a little ahead of things. But Howell arriving and looking pretty stout already is a good sign for how many snaps he could get as a rookie, at least.
Not that the Bengals are surprised. Everything else aside, as Fox 19’s Jeremy Rauch captured after the game, big names like Dexter Lawrence knew it was coming:
"He's real high on my board."
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) August 14, 2026
Postgame with Dexter Lawrence on Cashius Howell's debut with the #Bengals tonight. @FOX19pic.twitter.com/QIqzjfFdln
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Cashius Howell's debut earns Bengals rookie DROTY hype