CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals continued to invest in their pass rush Friday night by selecting Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell with their first pick of the NFL draft.
Howell was the 41st overall player taken in the draft and the third edge rusher in the second round. He was an Associated Press first-team All-American and the SEC's defensive player of the year.
Howell is 6-foot-2 and 253 pounds, which is leaner than the Bengals typically go for on the defensive line. He offers the Bengals speed around the edge and upgrades their pass rush depth. Howell recorded 11 1/2 sacks last year.
Cincinnati traded the 10th overall pick to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence last weekend. It was the first time the Bengals did not have a first-round pick since 1989.
Howell joins Myles Murphy, Boye Mafe and Shemar Stewart on the Bengals’ defensive end depth chart.
The Bengals had notable needs at linebacker and cornerback, but the opportunity to add a premium pass rusher in Howell was too good to pass up.
“The quick wins he can give us as a rusher is really dynamic,” assistant general manager Mike Potts said. “His arsenal of rush tools and moves that he has, I thought it was second to none in this draft class.”
The Bengals drafted Shemar Stewart out of Texas A&M last year in the first-round, but Howell has a very different style. His speed stands out, and he also offers outside linebacker versatility.
“He can play 4-2 edge,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “He can play outside backer if you go into five down (linemen). He showed proficiency being able to drop. He can help us on special teams. This is a multi-faceted athlete. A really, really twitched up guy.”
Potts said that the Bengals weighed opportunities to move up and move back on Friday night, but the compensation didn’t work out. Sticking at pick No. 41, the Bengals were able to land a player in Howell who made a very strong impression during the pre-draft process.
“They told me on my (pre-draft) visit that they’d hope I fall to them,” Howell said. “It’s a blessing.”
He began his college career as a redshirt at Bowling Green. Howell transferred to Texas A&M in 2024, and 2025 was his true breakout year.
“We were completely aligned with the personnel and coaching staff,” Potts said. “This guy is one of our favorite players in the draft.”
While the Bengals had three potential impact pass rushers already on the roster, there was no established depth beyond that. Entering the draft, the Bengals’ fourth defensive end was Isaiah Foskey, who wasn’t on the roster at the start of last season.
Even though the Bengals could have added a potential starter at linebacker or corner, they were planning to address defensive end early in this draft. They checked that box with Howell.
“There are always different tiebreakers,” Potts said. “In this case, it was a position we wanted to address and the highest-graded player.”
In the third round, the Bengals went for upside at a position of need and selected Washington cornerback Tacario Davis.
The Bengals lacked a backup corner with the physical skill set to grow into a future starter, and Davis checks that spot. The front office was impressed by his combination of size, speed and production. Davis can contribute as a true man corner in specific matchups and on third downs when the Bengals look to get more defensive backs on the field.
Davis backs up two standout corners in Dax Hill and DJ Turner and provides important depth in the secondary.
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FILE - Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell (9) rushes Samford quarterback Quincy Crittendon (2) during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game, Nov. 22, 2025, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Craft, File)
NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — A volunteer firefighter died battling a wildfire in northern Florida while more than 120 homes have been destroyed in southeast Georgia and thousands more remain threatened by two large blazes, one of which investigators suspect was sparked by a foil balloon touching power lines, officials said Friday.
An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across the Southeast, where scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead trees still littering some forests after being toppled by Hurricane Helene in 2024.
In northern Florida, the Nassau County Sheriff's Office said Friday that volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews suffered an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire. Crews was rushed to a hospital where he died Thursday evening, according to a news release posted to social media.
“Kevin was the epitome of courage and dedication,” Hilliard Volunteer Fire Chief Jerry Johnson said in a statement. “His sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
After getting a firsthand look at firefighting efforts in southeast Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters that state officials believe 87 homes burned in rural Brantley County this week are the most destroyed by a single wildfire in the state's history.
An additional 35 homes have been lost to a larger fire burning in sparsely populated Clinch and Echols counties near the Florida state line, Kemp said. That blaze has burned about 50 square miles (129 square kilometers), an area twice the size of Manhattan.
Kemp said officials suspect the Brantley County was sparked by a foil party balloon that touched live power lines, creating an electrical arc that ignited the ground. He said investigators suspect the larger fire started with a man welding a gate outside.
Spread across nearly 12 square miles (31 square kilometers) and still growing, the Brantley County blaze was 15% contained Friday, the Georgia Forestry Commission said. An estimated 4,000 homes in the county were under evacuation orders Friday, said commission spokesperson Seth Hawkins.
“There’s no way to stop this fire,” Kemp said. “They’re having to contain the flanks and the back of it and then, hopefully, we get a change in the weather.”
No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia.
Firefighters are battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have sent smoky haze into places far from the flames, triggering air quality warnings for some cities.
Michael Gibson was at his job Thursday at a chicken feed producer when his fiancee called urging him to come home. By the time he arrived, firefighters were already on the road where Gibson, his fiancee and their four children lived. He said he took his family to safety and tried to return to salvage belongings, but police stopped him.
Gibson said the fire consumed his mobile home and one beside it where his fiancee's brother lived. His family has been staying in a camper on a relative's property.
“We’ve lost everything, but I’m one of the lucky ones.” Gibson said Friday. “We’ve been prepared to leave. And I’m truly blessed to have my family and to have somewhere to sleep. ... A lot of people in my county didn’t make it out with the clothes on their backs.”
Jennifer Murphy said she had little time to react when firefighters knocked at her door in the Brantley County community of Hortense.
She said she barely had a chance to gather her dog, Chip, and a single bag of belongings before firefighters urgently helped her walk down her wheelchair ramp and grab a rolling walker from her van outside.
“It was like, 'Get out now, right now. You’ve got to leave,’” Murphy said Friday at the local church where she had spent the night on a couch.
While crews with bulldozers work to clear fire breaks around the burning areas, firefighters from dozens of local agencies have focused on protecting nearby homes and other structures — clearing away dry brush and using hoses and sprinklers to keep houses and yards wet.
"We’ve definitely had the local fire guys out there literally hosing stuff down,” said Hawkins of the forestry commission.
In Florida, firefighters were battling more than 120 wildfires Friday, mostly in the state’s northern half. Fire crews in Georgia responded to 31 new and relatively small blazes Thursday, the state forestry commission said.
Officials say soaking rain is badly needed to snuff out the large fires, and that possible showers forecast this weekend won't bring enough rainfall. There's also a chance of thunderstorms, raising concerns that lightning could spark more fires.
"It is going to take 8 to 10 inches before we can walk away from these fires,” said Johnny Sabo, director of the Georgia Forestry Commission.
He said long-range forecasts predict less than average rainfall until July.
Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press journalist Jeff Amy contributed from Atlanta
The photo provided by the Office of Gov. Brian Kemp shows smoke produced from a wildfire in Brantley County, Ga., Friday, April 24, 2026. (Office of Gov. Brian Kemp via AP)
A firefighting helicopter takes off from the airport working on fires in Southeast Georgia, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Waycross, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Jennifer Murphy and her dog Chip sit inside the Southside Baptist church as she is displanced by the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Annabelle Enke plays as her father Michael Gibson looks on after losing thier home at the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Gov. Brian Kemp speaks on the fires in Southeast Georgia, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Waycross, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Michael Gibson and his fiancée Tabitha Enke sit inside their camper after losing their home during the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Friday, April 24, 2026, in Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
The burned out remains of the Wedding Chapel at covenant acres is seen near the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A burned vehicle sits near a destroyed home as the Brantley Highway 82 fire burns, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A burned trailer sits near a destroyed home as the Brantley Highway 82 fire burns, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A firefighter works the Brantley Highway 82 fire, Thursday, April 23, 2026, near Nahunta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
