D
Cincinnati Bengals
A passer of the future in Mendoza, and a D, for the Bengals.
by aaaaa22222 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 22 picks
· 19 steals
· 0 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Bengals did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high.
The whole projection now runs through Fernando Mendoza; hit there and everything else looks smarter. However the rest shakes out, Miller at that price is a win they earned. Tyler Linderbaum gives the group a proven body among the projects.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with cornerback chief among the fixes.
A rough weekend that leaves the roster with more questions than answers.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 9 they get their guy under center for the next decade. A real need, handled.
In the 10th pick they get a workhorse for the backfield, and a steal at that. A clean fit for the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get a green-dot type in the middle at fair value. A real need, handled.
In No. 15 they get a rangy last line of defense, outstanding value to boot. Need was not the driver here.
A quiet steal in Round 1, Pick 16: Rueben Bain Jr. for less than the market said. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
In slot 17 they get a three-down second-level presence. A real need, handled.
In the 29th overall pick they get a lockdown presence outside at a price that makes it sweeter. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick 30 they get a security blanket over the middle, and a steal at that. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Carnell Tate in pick No. 33, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A tidy bit of business in the Round 2 slot, where Monroe Freeling graded well above the range. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They read the board right and Dillon Thieneman was the payoff at the 40th pick. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Circle this one: Kayden McDonald at pick 41 is a fall that decides a draft. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Peter Woods slipping to the 43rd overall pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board had Caleb Lomu higher than slot 44, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. The roster fit checks out.
A cornerback of that caliber at Round 2, Pick 18 is the definition of value, full stop. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They will replay Akheem Mesidor at No. 67 for years; that is how good the value is. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They barely believed it either: Chase Bisontis still on the board at Round 3, Pick 8. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They robbed the room for Anthony Hill Jr. here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jake Slaughter at the Round 3 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A need, and now a little less of one.
Taking Eli Stowers in pick 90 is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jadarian Price in pick No. 94 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Christen Miller in the 110th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.