B+
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals cashed the board's mistake on McNeil-Warren: B+.
by Nightmare22 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
Call it larceny. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren sat on the board until the 72nd pick, and the Bengals did not need to be asked twice. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B+.
They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. That tight end hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. They went 4 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a press-man option on the boundary. The biggest hole, addressed.
Value with a capital V on Peter Woods in Round 2, Pick 9, a genuine coup. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They will replay Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at the 72nd overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Somehow Connor Lew was still sitting there in No. 110, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Travis Burke in the 189th pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Aaron Anderson at slot 199 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
You do not let a cornerback like Ephesians Prysock reach pick No. 221 and blink. They did not. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board fumbled Kendrick Law all the way to pick 226, and they scooped it up. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.