B-
Cincinnati Bengals
A solid, sensible weekend for the Bengals: B-.
by PATRICK305 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 2 steals
· 5 reaches
The Bengals treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending the 226th overall pick on Damonic Williams a full 125 spots early. More right than wrong, and a B- to match.
Landing Klare that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. The quarterback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
Good work on the whole, with quarterback the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 10th pick they get a sideline-to-sideline linebacker at fair value. A real need, handled.
A reach for Gennings Dunker in the Round 2 slot; a little patience would have been rewarded. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Cyrus Allen this early at slot 72. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Caden Curry at Round 4, Pick 10 is a conviction pick that outran the value. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Davison Igbinosun in No. 189 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A top-tier tight end at a bargain, Max Klare in the 199th overall pick, plain and simple. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Tristan Leigh in No. 221 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Damonic Williams at the 226th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.