Once again, the Cincinnati Bengals are heading into a crucial offseason after a disaster of a year marred by injury and another postseason spent on the couch.
Key players like Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins are in their prime. Cincinnati has a litany of holes on the roster, and a front office that has a history of being conservative in free agency. Thus, this upcoming draft will be the difference between the Bengals being in contention or being disappointments to the Cincy faithful.
While rookies are often given the chance to get an actual transition to the NFL and spend a season or two adjusting, the Bengals are in a position where they are going to need some day-one contributors who can step in and make an impact immediately-- especially from whoever they draft on the defensive side of the ball.
So, with a lot on the line and a chance to find themselves back in contention, let's see what the first three rounds of the 2026 draft could shape out to be for Cincinnati.
Stats courtesy of Sports Reference CFB.
Round 1, Pick 10 - Peter Woods, DT, Clemson
Even in what is shaping up to be a weak QB class, there are quite a few blue-chip defensive prospects —enough that the Bengals should have a shot at picking one of them by the time #10 rolls around. A lot could change in the coming months, especially when it comes time for the Draft Combine.
Still, right now, the crème de la crème of potential defensive superstars are the highly touted Buckeye duo of Caleb Downs and Arvell Reese, as well as Miami's monster at EDGE, Rueben Bain Jr.
All three are likely gone by the time it's Cincinnati's turn to pick, so who does that leave them with? Texas Tech's David Bailey is certainly intriguing, LSU Mansoor Delane is the best corner in the class, and Ohio State's Sonny Styles would bring surefire tackling to a defense that desperately needs it. However, the pick that the Bengals would make here is Clemson's Peter Woods.
Ever since Larry Ogunjobi left in free agency after their magical 2021 season that ended in Super Bowl heartbreak, Cincinnati hasn't gotten consistent pass rush juice from the interior defensive line. Although his production took a dip in 2025, Peter Woods would no doubt provide just that to a team that desperately needs it.
As Gridiron Grading points out in this tweet below, his collegiate career metrics are on par with other current great-to-elite defensive tackles in the league, like Jeffrey Simmons, Grady Jarrett, and DeForest Buckner
Peter Woods has one of the best career production profiles we have charted for iDL in the last 10+ years.
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) December 31, 2025
This is as translatable as it gets for a prospect. pic.twitter.com/tux5sNfa7n
If Myles Murphy can build off the breakout he had late in the season and turn it into consistent DE1 play, then adding Peter Woods could immediately make this pass rush unit at least average, which would be far better than it has been the last few seasons.
Read More: Grading Bengals' 2024 NFL Draft class after two mostly awful seasons
Round 2, Pick 41 - Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo
Geno Stone is almost certainly on his way out, a sentiment seemingly confirmed by Stone himself with a cryptic tweet. The Bengals would need to upgrade at safety regardless of if this was his last season in stripes or not, as the signing has been completely underwhelming from the start, but if he is officially gone, then they'll no doubt address the safety position-- and likely through the draft.
Good thing the 2026 safety class runs deep. Caleb Downs is naturally the headliner of the upcoming rookie safeties, but there's a good pool of talent on Day 2, such as Dillon Thienemen, A.J. Haulcey, and Zakee Wheatley. The talent even extends to Day 3 of the draft as players like Michael Taafe and Bud Clark could translate nicely to the NFL. Of all the non-Caleb Downs safeties, though, Toledo's Emmanuel McNeil-Warren sticks out among the rest.
In three years as a starter for the Rockets, McNeil-Warren has recorded 206 tackles, eight forced fumbles, and five interceptions. He was also named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award (given to the best defensive back in college football) and was named to Pro Football Focus' All-American Team.
Some may be turned away due to the fact that Emmanuel played for a G6 school; however, Toledo has produced some notable NFL talent in recent years, including All-Pro Quinyon Mitchell. The Bengals also took a safety from Toledo back in the 2023 draft in the 5th round, Tycen Anderson, although he is mostly a really good special teamer now.
If the Bengals go safety on Day 2, then they can't go wrong so long as they don't reach on anybody, and McNeil-Warren is setting up to be the best from this group.
Round 3, Pick 72 - Antonio Williams, WR, Clemson
I talked about it more in my previous article, but the Bengals would benefit greatly from adding competition to the wide receiver room. They've lacked a true WR3 since Tyler Boyd left at the conclusion of the 2023 season. They've drafted three wide receivers in that span-- Charlie Jones, Andrei Iosivas, and Jermaine Burton. Jones has become a return specialist in his time here and Burton caught four passes before being cut midway through his second season.
There's also Mitchell Tinsley, a fun story as a UDFA who finally got some looks with the Bengals and had some nice plays (especially in Burrow's absence), but he is still far away from a WR3.
Iosivas is the only one who has had some success and has actually turned out pretty good for a 6th-round pick. Still, he isn't WR3 material as he struggles to create separation and is mostly just a red zone threat.
The Bengals need someone who can have big games while teams focus their energy on Chase and Higgins, preferably someone who can operate out of the slot, and Clemson's Antonio Williams fits that mold.
In four years as a starter for the Tigers, Williams has recorded 208 receptions for 2,336 yards and 21 receiving touchdowns. His best season was in 2024 when he caught 75 passes for 904 yards and a conference-leading 11 touchdowns. He's a solid route runner, has good hands, and possesses some YAC ability, albeit not an explosive amount.
Considering he's on the shorter end of NFL receivers at 5'11" and overall has a smaller frame, most of Williams' snaps would come as a slot receiver.
It's unclear how much of a contributor the Clemson product could be from the jump, but at the very least he'd provide some competition in the wide receiver room that needs a third guy to operate alongside Chase and Higgins.