Bengals can't let positional value narratives dictate 2026 NFL Draft

Some of the best players in the 2026 NFL Draft don't play traditionally high-value positions, but the Cincinnati Bengals can't let that be their compass as they decide how to approach building their rookie class.

This may sound controversial in light of the tire fire that transpired in 2025. After selecting project defensive end Shemar Stewart in Round 1, Cincinnati proceeded to go linebacker-left guard-linebacker-eventual right guard-running back to round out that draft.

What I'm more focused on here is the first round. Reaching for a need on a defensive lineman isn't worth it when several other players could be an even bigger catalyst for the Bengals in 2026

Multiple top Bengals targets in 2026 NFL Draft complicate the notion of positional value

I'll just come out and say it. Pending how everyone tests at the Combine, I don't think I'll switch up from how my current top-10 2026 NFL Draft big board stacks up:

1. Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
2. Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
3. Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State
4. Makai Lemon, WR, USC
5. Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
6. Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
7. Rueben Bain Jr., EDGE, Miami (Florida)
8. Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon
9. David Bailey, EDGE, Texas Tech
10. Arvell Reese, LB/EDGE, Ohio State

As I said in the intro, let's stray away from the trenches. Because those guys are so highly valued, I doubt the likes of Arvell Reese, Rueben Bain Jr., or David Bailey will still be on the board by the time the Bengals pick. Even if they are, they shouldn't just blindly draft one of them.

Part of the reason I have those guys a little lower is because I don't know what position Reese iwll play in the NFL. That's not a great sign. Bailey is an awesome pass rusher, yet he falls below the typical physical measurements the Bengals use on edge defenders in the first two rounds. The Texas Tech star is also probably better off out of a base 3-4 alignment.

Bain is my favorite, and while his shorter arms may be a red flag that sinks his stock a bit, it's hard to envision him making it to Pick 10. IF he does, that's at least a debate for me...but Bain shouldn't be the lock pick if he's available.

Thanks in part to positional value narratives, it's very possible that Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs, Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles, and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love all fall to No. 10. Or at least two of them could.

If you want to know why me and many others are so high on Downs, here's a little nugget from The Athletic's Dane Brugler to ponder:

I don't think I'd be super OK with the Bengals passing up a generational safety prospect just because he doesn't have the "highest value" position. Especially with how much of a need safety is in Cincinnati.

As I mentioned in this piece about NFL.com's prospect profiles that drop every year, the early comparisons for Styles and Love are as follows: San Francisco 49ers All-World linebacker Fred Warner, and elite Detroit Lions tailback Jahmyr Gibbs.

Tell me, Who Dey Nation, just because the Bengals used two picks on two bad linebackers in the 2025 draft, and have a quality workhorse back in Chase Brown (entering a contract year, by the way), would that preclude you from drafting the next Warner or Gibbs at 10th overall?

It shouldn't!

Just because some experts make gaudy pro player comparisons doesn't mean those prospects will meet those high expectations. However, these draft gurus have been around the block enough to know better than to throw out ridiculous comps, lest they get burned by them down the road.

To sort of break the other way for a second: Wide receiver is considered a high-value, premium position to invest in. Cincinnati is in the market for an upgrade at WR3 over Andrei Iosivas to better complement Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

The 2026 draft is expected to have Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson, and Makai Lemon go off the board in some order. Lemon may be the last, since he's more of a pure slot guy than the other two.

Makai Lemon is actually my favorite of the bunch, and he happens to fit the Bengals best. He'd straight-up dominate in the slot with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins flanking him. And this assertion that Cincinnati would never draft a first-round wideout with so much invested in Chase and Higgins is frankly ridiculous to me.

Oh really? "No shot" they won't pay another wide receiver in twenty twenty-nine? When the salary cap explodes beyond anyone's wildest projections, as it continues to do on an annual basis? When the oft-injured Higgins hits free agency at age 30?

In the meantime, you'd have three full seasons of sheer dominance and perhaps the best wide receiver trio of the modern era. Just think about what it'd be like for a second if Lemon lives up to his NFL.com Amon-Ra St. Brown comp.

Imagine throwing a player who's 90% of St. Brown into Cincinnati's current receiving corps. Not a soul could stop that passing attack.

So while the "value" might not be there to take a wide receiver with the No. 10 overall pick, Makai Lemon would cement the Bengals as the best passing game in the sport.

I don't trust the Bengals to make the right decision. Then again, with where they're picking, they almost can't go wrong. Free agency will have a huge influence on their draft strategy, of course, but blind allegiance to positional value, or ignoring perceived surplus areas, could doom them into a reach that costs them dearly.