Bengals 2026 NFL Draft takeaways: Did the Bengals build a true contender?

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An offseason of fixing the defense reached a crescendo with the top two selections adding even more pieces for defensive coordinator Al Golden. By taking Cashius Howell and Tacario Davis on Day 2, that extends a half-decade trend of throwing draft picks at the defensive problem. The Bengals have made 15 selections on the first two days over the last five drafts. Twelve of those have come on the defensive side of the ball. Perhaps this ends up being the year those investments finally pay off. The rest of the draft involved a calculated approach to filling the depth and long-term holes, specifically across the offensive line. Cincinnati executed a trade back in the fourth round that moved one of their sixth-rounders up to the end of the fourth, an important move to land wide receiver Colbie Young, who wouldn’t have been available in the sixth. Both Auburn’s Connor Lew and Duke’s Brian Parker II offer future options on the offensive line and a higher level of play in reserve roles. There are players designed to compete this year for existing roles and potentially take over in 2027 in Davis and Young. Beyond the trade, the draft was workmanlike. There’s a clear vision and path to play for all the late-round picks. They make sense. That’s saying something for a team rightly accused of reaching on pigeonholed picks because of need in recent years. They didn’t succumb to that pressure because the roster as a whole is in a much better place. The question now is whether their record will improve the result. Connor Lew. It’s fair to wonder where Lew would have gone off the board had he not torn his ACL in October. He’s “ahead of schedule” and said he expects to be 100 percent for training camp, so he’ll be ready to settle in behind starter Ted Karras as a rookie. Lew was on a path to be a potential top-50 pick. He was a freshman All-American at Auburn and established himself as a leader and captain despite still only being 20 years old entering the league. Lew’s strength is in pass protection, which makes him an ideal fit in Cincinnati, and holding up in the SEC for three years serves as an ideal training ground for the NFL trenches. The Bengals hit on third-round guard Dylan Fairchild last year, the first real mid-round offensive lineman success story in 15 years. Part of that credit goes to a match for the style of offensive line coach Scott Peters, with his background in martial arts. Fairchild was a wrestler in high school, as was Lew. That approach to the position was one worth taking a second swing at for Cincinnati. “You don’t pick a player simply because the coach loves him and we think the player will work well with the coach,” offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. “But it matters. We all have jobs to do, we all put the time, effort and energy in, but when you truly believe in somebody, there’s a little bit extra there. That’s what we felt about Dylan last year, and I know that’s how we feel about Connor.” The idea here is Lew could be the Bengals’ starting center in 2027, succeeding the 33-year-old Karras, if this year goes well for him. That’s an easy path to envision. Cashius Howell in Round 2. That surprise wasn’t the player. No shame in selecting a twitched-up SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He’s an obvious fit on the reconstructed defensive line. The surprise lies in passing on linebacker once again. Jacob Rodriguez and CJ Allen were both available. In fact, Indianapolis pulled the move the Bengals could have in adding a fourth-round pick by moving back in the second round and selecting Allen. Cincinnati passed and, unbelievably, still has yet to add a single player to the weakest position group on the team last year. Instead, another round of loud support for Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter surfaced as the Bengals look content to ride with the two young guys and, maybe just as important, a lack of playmaking depth behind them. They can have safety Kyle Dugger assist in subpackages. And Howell’s alignment versatility allows him to take some responsibilities off Knight’s plate on specific schemes. But not one? Not a single linebacker in a notably deep free agent pool and draft class for the position? Hard to believe, but it merely ended up the position that fell through the cracks. “That’s how it can fall,” assistant general manager Steven Radicevic said. “We had linebackers stacked in free agency. We had linebackers stacked in the draft we would have taken. That’s just the way it falls. We are happy with the players we took in free agency. Looking back on it at this point, I don’t think we would go back and change anything we’ve done in free agency or the draft. I feel like we’ve gotten good value.” Did the Bengals just select another Jermaine Burton? The answer from the coaching staff was a resounding no. Fourth-round pick Colbie Young fulfills the concept they hoped Burton would fill as a troubled third-round pick in 2024. Young, the 6-5, 218-pound, versatile deep threat, brings the ability to punish teams over the top when they attempt to play double coverage on both Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. He will compete with Andrei Iosivas in that third receiver role. That’s the obvious and understandable part. The question comes with taking a chance on Young, who, according to The Beast was “arrested on misdemeanor charges of battery and assault (Oct. 2024); suspended from team, didn’t play in final nine games of 2024 season because of ongoing investigation; accuser later retracted her statement and initial charges were dropped; Young pleaded no contest to lesser charge of disorderly conduct (Jan. 2025) and received 12 months probation.” Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor had to live with vouching for Burton in 2024 before he flamed out in record time with a series of off-field issues in Cincinnati. Even knowing that, he did not hold back his support for the club’s vetting of him and his personal character. The repeated talking point was that after his incident and suspension, Young returned to play for the Bulldogs in 2025. “There’s been times I’ve signed up for great risk in the past,” Taylor said. “I’ve put my hand up when maybe there are some of those red flags up there. This is one that I feel great about because you go through the process of the last seven years, guys I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with once we got them in here and guys I wanted and sometimes it’s more difficult than others. This is one I feel great about. And I feel great everyone is going to feel that.” Besides linebacker, the Bengals must revisit the free-agent market for a swing tackle behind Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims. Cody Ford, who just took a pay cut this offseason, would be the answer at this moment, but that’s a concerning reality should an injury occur to either starter. They did select Duke’s Brian Parker II in the sixth round and he was an All-American as a tackle there, even though he projects to move inside as a pro. He could grow into an option if his first season progresses well, even though his future is likely inside. There are free agents with starting experience on the market whom they could kick the tires on. The Bengals added Dalton Risner the week before the season started last year. Tackle could be a spot where that type of move is replicated. This roster isn’t without holes. Linebacker, slot corner and swing tackle are dangerously thin. Yet, this team and, specifically, this defense will arrive at the start of the training camp in July with a group more than capable of winning the Super Bowl. The revitalization of the defensive line turned out to be a masterpiece, in retrospect, rolling eight-deep with legitimate threats against the run and pass. The addition of Dexter Lawrence as the centerpiece that the entire line revolves around put each player into a role better fit to their skill set. They are far more versatile, deep and capable of expanding upon Golden’s scheme in his second season as defensive coordinator. He felt the difference over the weekend. “This time last year, we were drafting starters everywhere,” Golden said. “And now we’re drafting guys that can be mentored and integrated, and not just Day 1 ‘have to be the guy’ at every position.” The defensive line legitimately looks like a potential top-10 position group. That could be enough to complement an offense capable of being the best in the NFL. On the heels of an aggressive offseason, a calculated draft and the Lawrence trade, Cincinnati belongs near the top of the contender list. “I really couldn’t be happier,” Taylor said. “From a talent standpoint, we are in a really good place. From a leadership standpoint, we are in a really good place. Now you have to actually go do the work. It’s fun to talk about this stuff in the offseason. Now it’s up to the players and coaches to put it all together.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms