Demetrius Knight Jr.

55 tackles + 48 assists + 3 sacks + 7 PDs as a rookie — a full off-ball LB stat line.

Knight's rookie line covers every category that matters for an off-ball LB:

- 103 combined tackles (55 solo + 48 assists) — starter workload - 4 TFL, 3 sacks, 5 QB hits — useful blitzer - 7 PDs, 1 FF — coverage and turnover production

The Bengals took him at No. 49 overall in 2025 expecting an instant starter at LB. He delivered.

3 sacks + 7 PDs as a rookie LB — the dual-threat profile is rare from off-ball linebackers.

Most rookie LBs settle into one of two profiles: tackle-volume two-down thumper or coverage-only sub-package piece. Knight's 3 sacks AND 7 PDs put him in the smaller bucket of three-down LBs — guys you trust on early downs AND on third down.

The 5 QB hits add to that — he wasn't getting cheap clean-up sacks, he was beating blockers as a designed blitzer.

103 combined tackles as a rookie — top-tier LB volume for a Day 2 pick.

55 solo + 48 assists = 103 combined tackles. That's a starting MIKE LB workload. For context, only a handful of 2025 rookie LBs cleared 100 combined tackles, and none of them were drafted later than Knight (No. 49).

The Bengals defense was middle-of-the-pack overall in 2025; Knight was the productivity bright spot in a unit looking for an identity post-Logan Wilson re-shuffle.

South Carolina transfer who arrived in Cincinnati at 24 — and started Week 1 of his NFL career.

Knight transferred from Georgia Tech to South Carolina for his final college year, exploded as a senior, and was drafted by Cincinnati at No. 49 overall (Round 2).

He started every game of his rookie season, an unusual reality for a Day 2 LB, and produced 103 combined tackles, 4 TFL, 3 sacks, 7 PDs. The next step is the first career INT — 7 PDs without an INT is a regression-to-the-mean candidate in Year 2.