Bengals 2026 Draft. Thoughts and Grades.

[Bengals1]

Here is your 2026 Bengals draft....

Cincinnati Bengals draft picks 2026
Round 2: DE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M
Round 3: DB Tacario Davis, Washington
Round 4: C Connor Lew, Auburn
Round 4: WR Colbie Young, Georgia
Round 6: OL Brian Parker II, Duke (St. Xavier)
Round 7: TE Jack Endries, Texas
Round 7: DT Landon Robinson, Navy

Thoughts and your personal grade....?

[skycruiser]

This entire draft comes down to 1 thing:

If we don’t win a superbowl in the next 3 years it’s a total bust

All we’ll talk about is passing on downs and Rodriguez

All in means all in. Gotta bring home the Lombardi now

[stripesincarolina]

This entire draft comes down to 1 thing:

If we don’t win a superbowl in the next 3 years it’s a total bust

All we’ll talk about is passing on downs and Rodriguez

All in means all in. Gotta bring home the Lombardi now

I don't disagree but they better find a starting LB in FA. The Joe Batchis of the world aint gonna cut it.

[Bengals1]

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Cincinnati Bearcats linebacker Jack Dingle will sign with the Bengals.

Dingle was one of the local prospects who worked out with the Bengals at a recent pro day at Paycor Stadium. He's a productive former three-year starter who might have a shot at making a competition of the depth chart over the summer.

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote the following about Dingle: "His overall production in the impact categories is relatively light and he’s below average in coverage. The size, athletic testing and play strength are all positives, but Dingle is lacking in snap-to-snap execution, production and three-down versatility."

[MeatHeadbengal]

This entire draft comes down to 1 thing:

If we don’t win a superbowl in the next 3 years it’s a total bust

All we’ll talk about is passing on downs and Rodriguez

All in means all in. Gotta bring home the Lombardi now

I don't disagree but they better find a starting LB in FA. The Joe Batchis of the world aint gonna cut it.

I'm telling you right now they think our two LB's we got last year are good to go for this year. They signed a couple no names as undrafted guys and that will be it.

We probably all don't agree with their thinking but that's what their doing.

[4256 Hits]

Signed so far according to Grok.

Jack Dingle, LB, Cincinnati (local Bearcats product; one of the more notable early signings)
Josh Kattus, TE, Kentucky
Ceyair Wright, CB, Nebraska
Eric Gentry, LB, USC (highly regarded athletic linebacker in many UDFA rankings)
Jamal Haynes, RB, Georgia Tech
Isaiah Nwokobia, S, SMU
Christian Jones, OL, San Diego State (or sometimes listed with Texas ties in reports)
Corey Robinson, OL, Georgia Tech (offensive line depth addition)

Some reports also mention possible or early-linked names like Georgia WR Noah Thomas or Arkansas OT Corey Robinson II (potential overlap/variant on the OL name), but the core confirmed group above is consistently reported across trackers.

[Bengals1]

Meat is correct.

Both Tobin and Zac have said in plain English that the reason the team didn't pursue a linebacker in free agency was because their confident our current linebackers will improve now that they have a full year of experience under their belts.

You and I (and most Bengal fans) don't agree. But we're not in charge of player personnel decisions.

Its still possible the team may look at adding a veteran during camp, especially if they don't see the development from our current guys they're expecting.

But that's in the future. For now, we're going to live or die with who's currently on the roster.....period.

[MeatHeadbengal]

Round 2: DE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M - A+

I love this pick, we need pass rushing specialist and this dude is exactly that. He had a 1st round grade and a lot of folks were surprised he dropped as far as he did. Hes not the typical type of Edge we normally go after either. This gives me hope that possibly the office has learned a lesson and is willing to think outside the box.

Round 3: DB Tacario Davis, Washington - D

I am not a huge fan of this pick, I feel like it was a reach. I understand why they did pick him but I don't think his production was actually there. I hope I'm wrong but I don't like this pick.

Round 4: C Connor Lew, Auburn - A+

I love this pick, he was the top overall C heading into the draft before he was injured. Everything says he's ahead of schedule for return and is expected to make a full recovery. 1st round talent in the 4th round.

Round 4: WR Colbie Young, Georgia - C-

I have no idea why we need a WR on a roster full of talented WR's. I doubt he even makes this roster.

Round 6: OL Brian Parker II, Duke (St. Xavier) - B

Good quality talent in the 6th. This guy can play about every position on the O-line. Cody Ford you are now on notice.

Round 7: TE Jack Endries, Texas - B-

A TE, wasn't pumped or disappointed with this pick. We'll see how he develops.

Round 7: DT Landon Robinson, Navy - A+

The more I see about this guy the more im falling in love with it. He might be smaller but he's crazy quick and he's going to have a chip on his shoulder. He's a combine snub, hes got things to prove.

Overall draft grade, I'd give them a B+.

[Jmble]

It seems to me like they are putting a lot of faith into the Defensive Line making the Linebackers better. And to be fair, there is some validity to the idea. I've said all offseason that I think Knight still has potential and can make a bit of a leap this year. I don't think the same for Barrett Carter. I guess we will see though.

As for the draft, it was fine. Nothing exciting, but nothing outlandish. I still wish we would have taken McCoy in the third round, but drafting Ted Karras' replacement was a good move too. I love Ted Karras, but realistically this is probably his last year starting here.

I don't know enough about the CB they did draft to form a real opinion. He does seem like a bit of a reach there. I saw somebody say that with his size he might be a guy that can specialize in covering Tight Ends. If that happens, great. I don't think we've ever had somebody who was good at covering Tight Ends, but I'm skeptical on that one.

No complaints over Howell in the second. We've replaced the entire starting Defensive Line with the exception of Myles. We have Howell, BJ Hill, and a hopefully improved Shemar Stewart coming in on rotation. This defense may not be a top defense overall, but I really think we have the defensive Line that can help keep us from having to score 40 points every game to win.

I don't have much of an opinion about the rest of the guys. I don't get the Wide Receiver, but whatever. I see him at best as our fifth receiver, but unless he plays special teams well, I see Charlie Jones making the team ahead of him, so he may be the fifth receiver, but he would be the sixth in terms of roster spots.

All in all, I'm much more optimistic going into this year after the draft than I was last year. I can't ask for much more than that.

[Bengals1]

Meats feelings on this draft pretty much reflect my own so I won't bother going through player by player.

I don't get the Davis pick any more than the rest of you but I will defend the Colby Young pick a bit. According to several draft sites I've visited, after the draft he straightened himself up and became a model player after the incident.

Georgia fans unanimously seem to think we got a steal here. My guess is the team is not as high on Iosivas after his numerous drops last season, several in critical situations. They may see Young as his eventual replacement.

My overall grade would be a solid B. If the Dexter Lawrence trade is factored in then it gets an A- from me.

My only wish is that we added a LB in the mix but a veteran may be a better choice overall and they still have time to do that.