3 players the league will regret letting fall into Bengals' range on Day 2 of draft

The Cincinnati Bengals sat out Day 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft, but they'll have at least a couple picks to make on Friday night in the second and third rounds.

It's not as if the opening round came and went without anything of note, though. Cincinnati saw the Giants use the 10th overall pick they gained in the Dexter Lawrence trade on Miami (FL) offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, and the AFC North rival Browns picked Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano.

In fact, a major run on tackles pushed many coveted Bengals draft targets down the board. The rest of the NFL better hope this trio of defenders doesn't fall in Cincinnati's range, lest Joe Burrow actually have a competent defense at his disposal for once!

We'll start with a couple realistic options with the 41st overall pick, followed by a semi-sleeper the Bengals could bring aboard in Round 3 at No. 72.

3 dream Bengals draft picks still available through first round

Treydan Stukes, DB, Arizona

Many are advocating for a backup boundary cornerback behind DJ Turner and Dax Hill. I'm tired of contingency plans with Cincinnati's top draft picks. The Lawrence trade made sure that wouldn't happen, but turning around and drafting a potential Hill successor at Pick 41 would be lame.

Treydan Stukes is my 20th-ranked player in this class. He turns 25 in September, yet he should have a long runway of productivity thanks to elite 4.33 40 speed. Stukes isn't afraid to mix it up and get physical in run support, and he's phenomenal in coverage. Oh, and he has the versatility to play deep safety and nickelback.

The plan for Stukes would be to start at nickel in Year 1 before a potential pivot to free safety if Jordan Battle prices himself out of Cincinnati. Couldn't be more down for this outcome, or for Stukes to stay put in the slot in the event Battle stays.

Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech

I so don’t get the CJ Allen over Jacob Rodriguez talk as the second off-ball linebacker to come off the board. Rodriguez is more experienced, has way more ball production, and look, I get that Allen is a surer tackler, and he’s younger. However, when you’re picking at this stage of the draft, you want someone who can step in right away and be a true difference-maker.

Rodriguez’s knack for creating turnovers is uncanny. It’s not a fluke.

 Seven forced fumbles and four interceptions in 2025 alone. Plus, Allen is patient to a fault sometimes. Maybe he’ll be in better position to make a tackle and finish better than Rodriguez in spurts, but he also has a more conservative play style, and those tackles he does finish come further down the field.

Whereas in Rodriguez’s case, he’s so quick to diagnose and trigger that even if he misses, he can slow the opponent down and someone comes in to clean up. That’s where more of his misses stem from than anything else in my opinion. 

Also, Rodriguez blew the doors off the Combine, and to me, his change of direction is better than Allen, who’s more of a straight-line speed guy.

Jaishawn Barham, LB/EDGE, Michigan

This is a player I probably wasn't high enough on throughout the pre-draft process. Jaishawn Barham only converted to the edge last season, and still set the edge as well as anyone in this class.

Barham can function as both a rotational defensive end in Cincinnati and as an off-ball, strong-side linebacker in base 4-3 sets. Coordinator Al Golden could get creative with simulated pressures when Barham is on the field, because Boye Mafe has the ability to drop in coverage when need be.

If the Bengals could somehow score Barham with the 72nd pick, he'd be the best of both worlds to address needs on Cincy's front seven. He could rotate in at linebacker to combat other teams' 12 and 13 personnel sets, and even get some early-down usage versus the run.

At the same time, Barham doesn't threaten the jobs of top 2025 defensive draft picks Shemar Stewart, Demetrius Knight Jr., or Barrett Carter. At least for now!

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