B-
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals checked most of the boxes and earned a B-.
by msdawg ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
If confidence were a draft strategy, the Bengals would have aced it. Pat Coogan at the 157th pick is 43 spots clear of where he belonged. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B-.
The cornerback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. The Durant steal is the beam this whole class leans on. Job largely done: tight end settled and 6 of 8 of the wish list covered.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the cornerback spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
The board had cheaper options than Sonny Styles at the 10th pick, and it noticed. It fills a real need, too.
Dillon Thieneman in Round 2, Pick 9 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It adds depth where they could use a little.
A premium they did not need to pay, Skyler Bell a notch or two before his time. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They liked Gracen Halton enough to skip the value, taking him in slot 118. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Pat Coogan at the Round 5 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Zane Durant in pick No. 189 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A straight-up fair deal on Dallen Bentley at the 199th pick, value and slot in agreement. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Harrison Wallace III slipping to the Round 7 slot is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
No drama and no debate, Noah Whittington went about where he belonged in No. 226. A need, and now a little less of one.