NFL 2026 Draft Review: Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals (6-11) endured another long season due to QB Joe Burrow missing nine games in the regular season. His injuries left Bengals fans in disarray because he was 5-3 in the games where he played.

However, Cincy actually did something to address the league's worst rushing defense by trading for DT Dexter Lawrence.

The Bengals did have to give up their first-round pick in the trade, but they picks in every other round of this year's NFL Draft.

Round 2, Pick 9: Cashius Howell - DE - Texas A&M. 6'2", 253 lbs (31 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 6 pass deflections, 1 forced fumble).

Howell seeks to disrupt plays as much as possible with 25 big plays last season. He will definitely see time on the field rushing the passer on passing downs. Bengals fans will be hoping that he will do better on pass plays than last year's bust, Shemar Stewart, who also went to Texas A&M.

Round 3, Pick 8: Tacario Davis - CB - Washington. 6'3", 194 lbs (19 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 INT, 3 pass deflections).

Davis missed five games in the middle of last season due to injury, which is why he dropped to the third round. Davis is a tall corner that will help guard against taller wide receivers in the red zone. He will need to increase his pass deflections going forward.

Round 4, Pick 28: Connor Lew - C - Auburn. 6'3", 310 lbs.

Lew was a three-year starter for the Tigers, but he ended up with an ACL injury during the middle of the season. He dropped to the 4th round due to the injury, but he plans to be ready for training camp. He will add depth to the interior of the offensive line.

Round 4, Pick 40: Colbie Young - WR - Georgia. 6'4", 218 lbs (26 rec, 358 yds, 13.8 yds/rec, 1 TD)

Young has the height to make catches in the air over smaller defenders. He could be used as a red zone target in the future even though he only caught one touchdown pass last season.

Round 6, Pick 8: Brian Parker II - C - Duke. 6'5", 309 lbs.

Parker started at offensive tackle for the past three years with the Blue Devils, but will be developed to provide interior depth for the Bengals offensive line.

Round 7, Pick 5: Jack Endries - TE - Texas. 6'4", 245 lbs (33 rec, 346 yds, 10.5 yds/rec, 3 TD)

Endries could see time as a backup TE or as another target in the red zone.

Round 7, Pick 10: Landon Robinson - DT - Navy. 6'0", 287 lbs (64 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery).

Although Robinson is undersized at defensive tackle, he consistently made plays as a three-year starter for the Midshipmen. He could possibly see some time in the defensive line rotation on passing downs.

Overview: The Bengals organization must like looking at Aggies tape because this year is the second year in a row that they are drafting a defensive end from Texas A&M. Seeing Cincinnati select a defensive end that was a teammate of Shemar Stewart is diabolical because Howell will more than likely take Stewart's spot on the roster. However, Stewart was that horrible last season because he was expected to have double-digit sacks, but he only acquired one sack.

Nevertheless, drafting offensive linemen was absolutely necessary to finally bring depth to the offensive line. Depth was also added in the secondary with Davis. Bringing in Young and Endries will give Burrow a couple of more receivers to throw to during the season. However, this draft is underwhelming.

Grade: D-.

Disclaimer: The thoughts in this post do not reflect the viewpoints of any of the representatives at Vocal Media.