A sixth-round find out of Ole Miss who has carved out a role as a rotational edge rusher for Cincinnati.
Cedric Johnson is a defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals, a Mobile, Alabama native who spent four productive years terrorizing SEC offensive lines at Ole Miss before Cincinnati took a flier on him late in the 2024 draft. He has fought through injuries early in his career but keeps carving out playing time on the edge.
Path to the league
Johnson played four seasons at Ole Miss (2020-2023), appearing in 46 games with 29 starts and totaling 112 tackles, including 22 tackles for loss and 19 sacks over his college career. He earned a Senior Bowl invite following his final season, and the Bengals selected him in the sixth round, 214th overall, of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Career highlights
Johnson's best individual college season came as a sophomore in 2021, when he posted 33 tackles and 6.5 sacks starting 11 of 13 games. He tested well at the combine, posting a 38-inch vertical that ranked among the top marks for defensive linemen and linebackers that year.
2025 season recap
Johnson opened the 2025 season on injured reserve with a calf injury and did not return to the field until he was activated on October 31 ahead of Cincinnati's Week 9 game against Chicago. Across his first two NFL seasons combined, he has appeared in 18 games and recorded 27 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Cedric Johnson
- ESPN: Cedric Johnson
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
9 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | bengals | 9 | 20 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | bengals | 9 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Defensive End
- Group
- defense
- College
- Ole Miss
- Hometown
- Mobile, AL, USA
- Age
- 23
- Status
- active
