Until the Cincinnati Bengals fundamentally overhaul their scouting process or their personnel department, they can expect to keep failing on the vast majority of their draft picks.
To be fair to the Bengals and any other team, the NFL Draft is a crapshoot to begin with. However, it's even more so that way when you have the smallest scouting department in the league, which Cincinnati does.
Rather than taking fliers based on evaluations that can't be as comprehensive as the elite front offices based on resources alone, why not trade these future maybe-picks for definitely-good players now?
Not sure how else the Bengals except to make meaningful progress on defense in particular via a slow draft-based rebuild. Here are some trades for Duke Tobin and Co. to consider before the 2026 NFL Draft, in lieu of an unlikely free-agent spending spree.
Blockbuster Bengals trade scenarios involving top NFL Draft picks
Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie for 2026 3rd-round pick, 2027 1st-round pick & 2027 2nd-round pick
For some strange reason, the Kansas City Chiefs didn't lock up Trent McDuffie to a multi-year extension before the 2025 campaign kicked off. They had the chance to, but instead opted to let McDuffie ride out his fifth-year option without a second contract in tow.
McDuffie and the Chiefs will want to make something work, since he's been pivotal to their last two Super Bowl victories. That said, if the Bengals came crashing in with an offer like the one above, how could Kansas City resist?
We just saw Sauce Gardner get traded from the Jets to the Colts for two No. 1 picks. Cincinnati instead flushes the first two rounds of the 2027 draft and the last Day 2 pick of the coming year to help build a defense ready to win now.
Beyond his versatility to play boundary corner, nickelback, and box safety, McDuffie is the type of assignment-sound, elite defender the Bengals badly need on defense. Imagine him paired with ascending cornerback DJ Turner for the long haul in Cincy. What a dynamic duo that'd be!
You might say this is an absurd price to pay for Trent McDuffie. I would respond that he'd be the best Bengals defensive back since Ken Riley, and will only be 26 years old to start next season.
Worth three top draft picks? You better believe it.
Giants EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux for 2026 2nd-round pick & 2027 4th-round pick
Definitely trying to will this into existence. The New York Giants could use the future draft capital to overhaul their roster. Not that they've been a disaster in drafting of late, but they're more than a couple players away from contention.
Having just selected pass rusher Abdul Carter No. 3 overall in 2025, the G-Men could move on from Kayvon Thibodeaux before he plays on the fifth and final year of his contract. Thibodeaux has seen his sack numbers dip this year, yet he's a top-10 PFF run defender on the edge.
Back in 2023, Thibodeaux showed off his ability to wreak havoc on quarterbacks to the tune of 11.5 sacks. He has it in him. Now that he's emerged as a top-flight edge setter versus the run, the 24-year-old is just the type of solid starter the Bengals could use in the defensive trenches.
New York's unwillingness to move Thibodeaux before the NFL trade deadline suggests the team wants him around next season. But what if the Giants could get this type of ammunition via Cincinnati prior to the 2026 NFL Draft?
Could they really say no to someone who's stuck behind Carter and Brian Burns on the depth chart anyway? And wouldn't Thiobdeaux want the surefire starting role the Bengals could offer?
Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for 2026 3rd-round pick, 2027 5th-round pick
Gotta figure it's a little easier to lure Minkah Fitzpatrick away from Miami. There were rumors about Fitzpatrick getting traded prior to the deadline, and he can't be jazzed to be back with the Dolphins after being dealt to the Steelers very early in his career.
Fitzpatrick has familiarity with Pittsburgh and the AFC North, so it'd be a neat story for the Bengals to bring a former rival into the fold. They did that with Mike Hilton once upon a time, and he might be the best free-agent signing in franchise history other than Trey Hendrickson. Since the Fins are in a rebuild, they'd welcome multiple draft picks back for their All-Pro safety.
This position is a bit of a sore spot in Cincinnati. Once Jessie Bates walked in free agency to the Falcons a couple years ago, the safety room hasn't been the same. Current starters Geno Stone and Jordan Battle are inconsistent at best.
Among these trade candidates whose contracts expire after the 2026 campaign, Fitzpatrick ($15.6 million) carries a higher cap hit than Thibodeaux ($14.75 million) and McDuffie ($13.6 million) and will be 30 years old at a less valuable position on paper. Hence the lesser trade offer.
Still, Fitzpatrick is more of a short-term play who could be had at a decent bargain on a two-year extension. That's more than enough time for Joe Burrow to lead this Bengals franchise to the promised land.