B
Cincinnati Bengals
A sensible, unshowy class lands the Bengals a B.
by Emeritus ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
There is reaching, and then there is Trey Zuhn III at the 199th pick. The Bengals jumped the board by 41 and dared it to prove them wrong. A dependable weekend that grades out a B.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Hunter. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped wide receiver, which is a strange place to end up.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the wide receiver spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 10 they get a centerpiece for the ground game, and a steal at that.
They took D'Angelo Ponds at par in the 41st overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
You do not let an interior defensive lineman like Lee Hunter reach slot 72 and blink. They did not. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Nothing to complain about; Bud Clark went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Pat Coogan at Round 6, Pick 8 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A real head-scratcher, Trey Zuhn III in the Round 6 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Miles Kitselman at pick No. 221 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jimmy Rolder at pick 226 is money in the bank, a linebacker taken below his worth. The roster fit checks out.