C-
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals lost the trade table, and the C- tells the story.
by bbg ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
Somebody took the Bengals to the cleaners. The deals they made bled real value, and the whole class wears it.
Leaving cornerback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Slaughter.
It nets out as a middle-of-the-pack haul that neither helps nor hurts much.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 10 they get a green-dot type in the middle, reach and all. A clean fit for the roster.
Emmanuel Pregnon at Round 2, Pick 9 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A tidy bit of business in pick 72, where Jake Slaughter graded well above the range. It fills a real need, too.
Nothing to complain about; Bud Clark went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. A minor itch, scratched.
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tim Keenan III. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A quiet steal in the Round 5 slot: Eric Rivers for less than the market said. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They took DJ Campbell at par in the 180th pick, which is nothing to complain about. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They paid sticker price for Pat Coogan in No. 189, and that is fine. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Justin Jefferson in the 199th pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Kaelon Black is a better player than the 221st overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. The roster fit checks out.
Good price on Jaren Kanak in pick 226, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.