Bengals edge out rival for best AFC North haul in 3-round mock draft

The Baltimore Ravens have routinely had a better roster than the Cincinnati Bengals over the years, and that hasn't really changed. In fact, the most notable shift came in free agency, when Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson defected to the AFC North rival Ravens.

That probably turned the tide to ensure Baltimore still has superior personnel overall. However, the 2026 NFL Draft is an opportunity for the Bengals to make up some ground if they play their cards right.

Armed with the 10th overall pick and higher draft status than the Ravens — they didn't give up the 14th pick for Maxx Crosby after all! — Cincinnati can add at least one blue-chip rookie to the mix.

Finding immediate impact players in the draft has proven elusive for the Bengals of late. In this recent three-round mock draft, Duke Tobin could score at least two better than Baltimore in that category.

3-round 2026 NFL Mock Draft sees Bengals beat Ravens for best AFC North two-day talent infusion

FanSided.com's Cory Williams dropped a three-round NFL mock draft not long ago, and that coincidentally coincided with my top-175 big board release on X/Twitter. ICYMI, and the impressions suggest you did, here it is:

That's my barometer for success in these three-round mock hauls for the Ravens and Bengals. In the end, Cincinnati is ever so slightly superior.

Round 1 — Bengals 10th pick: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
Ravens 14th pick: Jordyn Tyson WR, Arizona State

So we've got Ohio State do-it-all defensive back Caleb Downs, my third overall player, falling all the way to Pick 10 for Cincinnati. What a steal this would be, and an indication that people may be overthinking the whole "positional value" narrative.

Here's what Williams had to say about Downs to the Bengals in his write-up:

"We haven't heard all that much about potential medical concerns for Caleb Downs since immediately following the NFL Combine. That doesn't mean that they've just up and vanished, but we can hope that it does mean that the concerns aren't going to cause him to plummet. The Bengals are certainly hoping that, as they would get a back-end weapon that they haven't really had on the roster since Jessie Bates III, and can continue trying to rebuild any semblance of a defense."

Not to be totally outdone, though, the Ravens scooped up a top-rive player and the draft's WR1 in my humble opinion, Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson.

Much is made of Tyson's injury history. I don't see anything that's super red-flaggy in the bigger picture of his career, considering the multiple knee ligament tears he suffered happened all the way back in 2022. He has plenty of quality game tape and production on his resume since then.

Tyson is too dynamic after the catch, generally explosive and elusive, and too polished of a route-runner to pass up, especially if he slides all the way to No. 14. Williams agrees with my assessment that, in putting aside the injuries, Tyson is the clear WR1 in this class:

"People are starting to be more vocal about something I've preached on Jordyn Tyson for a while, which is that he's WR1 in this class without some injury concerns. Those concerns can't be overlooked, but they're also a risk worth taking for the Ravens. After spending big on Trey Hendrickson, the offense feels like the right area of focus of Baltimore, and Tyson is the potential true No. 1 that Lamar Jackson and this regime have been trying to find for years."

Round 2 — Bengals 41st pick: Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
Ravens 45th pick: A.J. Haulcy, S, LSU

Another close call on the big board here! Jacob Rodriguez is my 24th-ranked player, and A.J. Haulcy checks in at 30th. Great value for both these gents where Williams has them drafted.

Rodriguez is miles better as a prospect than last year's Cincinnati draft picks, Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter. The Texas Tech star would be the immediate green dot linebacker for the Bengals' defense, relegating Carter to situational defensive snaps and predominant special teams duty.

When you couple together the mind-boggling production Rodriguez had in his last two collegiate seasons (255 combined tackles, 21.5 TFL, six sacks, five interceptions, and 10 forced fumbles) with his electrifying Combine performance, how does he make it out of Round 1?

I mean hey, if the Bengals get Rodriguez after that, so be it!

As for Haulcy, well, he has uncanny coverage instincts and will lay fellas out when they come into his vicinity. He has something of a high-risk, high-reward style of play. However, playing in a secondary for a defensive mastermind like Jesse Minter, with the likes of 2025 first-rounder Malaki Starks and All-Pro Kyle Hamilton to complement him should bode well for Haulcy's development.

Round 3 — Bengals 72nd pick: Davison Igbinosun, CB, Ohio State
Ravens 80th pick: Jake Slaughter, C, Florida

Finding a successor to historically-paid free agent center Tyler Linderbaum is of paramount importance for Baltimore. Linderbaum decided to get a bag with the Ravens to block for future No. 1 overall pick quarterback Fernando Mendoza and dynamic tailback Ashton Jeanty.

Sounds OK on paper, especially with that $81 million over three years. Outrageous for a center. So, the Ravens turn around and get a dynamic athlete in Florida's Jake Slaughter as Linderbaum's replacement in Round 3.

Slaughter gave up only one sack and two QB hurries on 422 pass blocking snaps last season. He's technically sound, so seldom out of position, and has about three years of SEC starting experience. That should do.

Finally, the Bengals get a bit of an edge big board-wise here as well with Ohio State's Davison Igbinosun (79th vs. 83rd). He improved a lot in 2025, cutting way back on penalties whilst allowing only a 47.8% completion rate and 42.6 passer rating.

It's unclear whether Cincinnati will extend boundary cornerbacks DJ Turner and/or Dax Hill this summer. Thus, a contingency plan/injury insurance like Igbinosun should be among the top priorities for the Bengals this draft cycle.