B
Cincinnati Bengals
Good, not great, for the Bengals: B.
by ianharmon17 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 3 steals
· 3 reaches
You can fall in love with a player. You are not supposed to marry him in the wrong round. The Bengals did exactly that with Jack Pyburn in Round 7, Pick 5. Call it a sensible B, earned the boring way.
They banked enough surplus on Thieneman to cover a lot of smaller sins. The running back spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. On the needs board they went 7 of 8, with cornerback the one that mattered most.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 10 they get a sticky cover corner at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A conviction pick on Lee Hunter at the Round 2 slot that the board grades a round light. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Taking Dillon Thieneman in pick No. 76 is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. It adds depth where they could use a little.
A reach on Jude Bowry in pick 115; the board had better options right there. The roster fit checks out.
No edge and no loss on Keyshaun Elliott in No. 121; it is a wash and a sensible one. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Nothing to complain about; Anez Cooper went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Tanner Koziol at the Round 6 slot is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jack Pyburn well ahead of where he belonged. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Chase Roberts in No. 226 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Sawyer Robertson in slot 253 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.