Bengals double dip on service academy studs in new 7-round mock draft

The Cincinnati Bengals have plenty of picks to find quality players in the 2026 NFL Draft, and this mock scenario sees them capitalize on a pair of Navy stars who fall all the way to the sixth round.

Once April rolls around, it's very possible we'll see a big shift in the stocks of many prospects. Some pro days are still to unfold, and what the media perceives doesn't always match up with what NFL decision-makers are thinking.

We are indeed close to silly/smokescreen SZN for the draft. Before that madness unfolds and we drink in some college hoops for that phenomenon, here's a seven-round monster of a Bengals mock draft.

Bengals 7-round mock draft gives Navy stars black and orange stripes in awesome rookie haul

Round 1, Pick 10 — Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon

This is the so-called "worst-case scenario" for Cincinnati and it's still great. Losing out on Ohio State's Caleb Downs is a bummer, but Oregon's Dillon Thieneman offers similar deep/box safety and nickelback versatility. And he's the superior athlete. A classic "don't overthink this" pick in Round 1.

Round 2, Pick 41 — Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech

Production machine. Superb athletic testing at the Combine. I'm a little scared to invest another second-rounder at the linebacker spot since Demetrius Knight Jr. has looked so bad thus far. However, Rodriguez is the 24th-ranked prospect on my latest big board. Knight was (too high) 56th for me last year. I'm confident that difference will show up in the NFL from the jump.

Round 3, Pick 72 — Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE, Penn State

The Nittany Lions program just keeps producing quality players. While Dennis-Sutton isn't on the level of Chop Robinson, Abdul Carter, or Odafe Oweh as a prospect, he's piled up 17 sacks across the last two seasons. DDS is a hard edge-setting behemoth with legit pass rushing juice at 6'6'", 256 pounds — and a production profile that bodes well for his NFL future.

Round 4, Pick 110 — Oscar Delp, TE, Georgia

Playing in the shadow of Brock Bowers can't be easy. Oscar Delp seldom got used as often as he should have as a pass-catcher, but he takes a lot of pride in run blocking and proved at his pro day that he's a supreme athlete. I'd play him over pending 2027 free agent Drew Sample any day in the Bengals' tight end rotation.

Round 6, Pick 189 —Eli Heidenreich, WEAPON, Navy

My head about exploded Scanners-style when I saw Eli Heidenreich's 3-cone time. Sutton and Rodriguez were wildly impressive at their size with matching 6.90 seconds at the Combine. Heidenreich's pro day posting of 6.55 is straight-up silly. He did a little bit of everything at Navy. The Bengals can find a way to work him into the offense. Future WR3 potential for sure.

Round 6, Pick 199 — Landon Robinson, DT, Navy

I've written about Robinson before, since his own trainer drew comparisons to another former client in Bengals legend Geno Atkins. All the hype on Robinson was justified after his pro day. An interior pass rushing 3-technique is admittedly not as much of a need for Cincinnati after signing Jonathan Allen, but I would put money on him being superior in that area to Bengals 2024 second-round pick Kris Jenkins Jr.

Round 7, Pick 221 — Lorenzo Styles Jr., S, Ohio State

This is a pure dart throw based on raw athleticism. Hard to go wrong with anyone from that Ohio State defense. Styles had limited college snaps, yet he could at the very least be a strong special teams player to make up for the Bengals losing Tycen Anderson in free agency.

Round 7, Pick 226 — Toriano Pride Jr., CB, Missouri

You can see that Pride cracks the graphic above featuring Styles and Thieneman. imagine adding all this explosiveness to the Bengals' defensive backfield, to go with the superb athleticism of their boundary cornerback tandem in DJ Turner and Dax Hill. Pride allowed a 53.4 passer rating last year and missed only 6.5% of his tackles. Don't know why folks aren't higher on him.