Fredi Knighten is in his second season with the Bengals, after joining the staff as an offensive assistant in 2022.
In his first season in Cincinnati, Knighten helped the offense rank in the top 10 in the NFL in scoring (seventh, 26.1 points per game), total yards (eighth, 360.5 per game), and passing yards (fifth, 265.0 per game). QB Joe Burrow set single-season team records for completions (414) and passing TDs (35) en route to earning his first career Pro Bowl selection, while WRs Ja'Marr Chase (1046) and Tee Higgins (1029) each surpassed 1000 receiving yards for a second straight season.
Knighten joined the Bengals' staff after spending the 2021 campaign as an offensive analyst at Utah State University. He helped the Aggies set program records for passing yards (4248), TD passes (41), total 100-yard receiving games (13) and number of WRs with 10-plus TD catches (three). With Knighten on staff, Utah State finished the season ranked 15th nationally in passing offense (303.4 yards per game), 23rd in total offense (445.6 yards per game) and 33rd in scoring offense (32.6 points per game). The offense played a large role in the team tying the school record for wins (11) and claiming the program's first Mountain West Conference title.
At Utah State, Knighten worked with WR Deven Thompkins, who was named an AP third-team All-American and a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award. Thompkins ranked second in the NCAA and set a school record with 1,704 receiving yards on 102 receptions. He tied a Utah State record with nine total 100-yard receiving games, including six straight games with 100-plus yards.
Knighten spent two seasons (2019-20) at the University of Massachusetts, where he served as running backs coach for both years and also coached the quarterbacks in '20. During the 2020 season, none of the team's five RBs that fielded a handoff committed a fumble once over a combined 344 carries. The group rushed for a combined 1460 yards (4.2 per carry) and 11 TDs.
Prior to his time at UMass, Knighten served as a graduate assistant at Florida State for the 2018 season. He helped the Seminoles offense rank third in the ACC in passing yards per game (270.1), with QB Deondre Francois throwing for 2731 yards and 15 TDs. He was also a graduate assistant for two years (2016-17) at Maryland, helping the Terrapins rank in the top-20 nationally for fewest turnovers (14) in 2017. That season, WR DJ Moore set a school record with 80 receptions and led the Big Ten with 1033 receiving yards. Moore would become a first-round draft pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2018.
In 2016, Maryland's offense rushed for 2594 yards, marking the first time the program had 2500-plus yards on the ground since 2003. In the passing game, QB Perry Hills led the Big Ten in completion percentage (61.9).
Knighten enjoyed a decorated playing career as a dual-threat QB at Arkansas State (2012-15), ranking fourth in program history with 6986 total yards. He graduated with the second-most total yards in a single season (4056 in 2014) and was a two-time All-Sun Belt selection. Knighten was named MVP of the 2013 GoDaddy Bowl after recording 212 yards of total offense and leading the Red Wolves on a 55-yard game-winning drive in the final 1:25 of regulation.
A native of Little Rock, Ark., Knighten earned a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Arkansas State in 2016. He and his wife, Alexis, have a son, Malcolm.
Playing and coaching history: 2012-15—Played QB at Arkansas State. 2016-17—Graduate assistant coach, Maryland. 2018—Graduate assistant coach, Florida State. 2019-20—Assistant Coach (AC), Massachusetts. 2021—AC, Utah State. 2022-present—AC, Cincinnati Bengals.
