Ole Miss Rebels selected by Bengals on final day of 2024 NFL Draft

After a record-breaking 2023 season, Ole Miss football saw three of its own – Deantre Prince (Jacksonville Jaguars, fifth round), Cedric Johnson (Cincinnati Bengals, sixth round) and Daijahn Anthony (Cincinnati Bengals, seventh round) – be selected on the final day of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit on Saturday.

This marks the fourth straight year with multiple Rebels taken in the draft, as well as the third in a row with at least three Ole Miss selections. In its history, Ole Miss now has 315 total NFL Draft picks – 15 of which have come in the Lane Kiffin era.

Johnson – a native of Mobile, Ala. – was chosen as the winner of the 2023 Chucky Mullins Courage Award after a brilliant Ole Miss career on and off the field. The Bengals nabbed him with the 214th overall selection in the sixth round, making this the third consecutive NFL Draft that an Ole Miss defensive end has been taken alongside Sam Williams in 2022 (Dallas Cowboys, Round 2, Pick 56) and Tavius Robinson in 2023 (Baltimore Ravens, Round 4, Pick 124).

In his career with the Rebels, Johnson played in 46 games with 29 starts, and he recorded 111 total tackles (56 solo), 22.0 tackles for loss, 19.0 sacks, 27 QB hurries, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He ended his Rebel career ranked tied for fifth all-time in sacks in the Ole Miss record books.

Johnson was also a Combine invitee, where he caught the eyes of the Bengals coaching staff.

"He's an athletic, smart player who showed versatility up and down the line, but he's going to be a defensive end," said Bengals senior defensive assistant Mark Duffner. "Very accountable, very dependable. High recommendations from the coaching staff there. I was down on the floor with him (at the NFL scouting combine) and I liked his athleticism. He runs well. Conscientious, bright. He's got a lot of characteristics we're looking for."

Just 10 picks later, the Bengals came calling for the Rebels again, snaring Ole Miss defensive back Daijahn Anthony with the 224th overall selection early in the seventh round. With that pick, this marks the first time that two Ole Miss Rebels were taken by the same team in the same draft since 2010, when the Kansas City Chiefs took running back Dexter McCluster (Round 2, Pick 36) and safety Kendrick Lewis (Round 5, Pick 136). Johnson and Anthony are the sixth and seventh Rebels ever selected by the Cincinnati Bengals, respectively, and the first since Rod Taylor in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Anthony – a Richmond, Va. native who transferred to Ole Miss after prior stops at Division II Shepherd and Liberty – was a crucial member of the secondary for the Rebels in their record-breaking 2023 campaign.

Anthony was fourth on the team in tackles with 61 stops (28 solo), he led all Rebels with eight pass breakups and he was tied for the team lead with three interceptions. None of those eight pass breakups, though, were bigger than his PBU of eventual Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels as time expired in Ole Miss' 55-49 upset over No. 12 LSU on September 30.

"(Anthony's) earned it," said Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor. "You go through how he ended up at Shepherd, you go though how he ended up at Liberty, you go through how he ended up at Ole Miss. I appreciate his story, and why he did all the things that he did to get to where he's at today, and to have his name called on draft night I think is special for him."

"We really liked him, thought it was a really good fit for him," Taylor continued. "I do appreciate his story and the things you hear from him and the things he's gone through to get to where he is today."

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