A-
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals won the night they stopped Bisontis from sliding. Grade: A-.
by Jaybeast17 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 8 steals
· 0 reaches
Thirty-one other rooms let Chase Bisontis slide, and the Bengals were the ones holding the card at the 199th overall pick. Highway robbery. Little to argue with here, and the A- says so.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. They punted on wide receiver, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. The imported veterans give this class a floor the draft picks could not on their own.
Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
Trust the process, because this time the process plainly worked.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 26 they get a cornerstone up front, and a steal at that. A clean fit for the roster.
Jermod McCoy at the Round 2 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They robbed the room for Kenyon Sadiq here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Steal is underselling it; Cashius Howell at pick No. 72 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It adds depth where they could use a little.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Kayden McDonald reach No. 110 and blink. They did not. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They will replay Chase Bisontis at pick 199 for years; that is how good the value is. A need, and now a little less of one.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at the 221st overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Circle this one: Deontae Lawson at Round 7, Pick 10 is a fall that decides a draft. The roster fit checks out.