If you've been reading along on Stripe Hype for any amount of time since I took the reins, you know that my hatred for the Cincinnati Bengals' draft and scouting processes knows no bounds. If not, welcome, and that's the premise we're running with right now.
NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah only puts out a select few mock drafts every year. It's based on his own talent evaluation as a former pro scout, yes, but it's also based on what he's hearing from his inside sources.
So umm...DJ's Mock 1.0 has a new name for the Bengals in the first round. With the 10th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select...
Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy is Daniel Jeremiah's pick for the Bengals at No. 10 overall in 2026 NFL Draft
Seriously? Just read Jeremiah's write-up on Jermod McCoy to see what's obviously wrong with this picture:
"Cincinnati needs help all over the field on defense. McCoy missed the 2025 season due to injury, but his 2024 tape was outstanding. He’s squarely in the mix to be the top CB in the draft."
Either DJ isn't super locked in on the Bengals' personnel, or he knows all too well how this organization does business. Hoping it's the former. Not because I doubt Jeremiah's expertise, nor do I want to disrespect him. He's one of the best in the industry at this whole draft thing. I'm just praying it ain't his sources suggesting that McCoy is Cincinnati's early lean.
McCoy is coming off a torn ACL. Not as devastating of an injury as it was back in the Carson Palmer days, but still not ideal.
A pick like this is exactly what's destroyed the Bengals over the past three years. McCoy represents a contingency plan. A surplus selection at a non-need position. This isn't "best player available." It's more of a cost-cutting maneuver than anything else.
Think about it. Breakout star cornerback DJ Turner is eligible for a contract extension this offseason. He will not get it. Precedent alone makes that as close to a guarantee as there is.
Dax Hill, who also tore his ACL during the 2024 campaign, is playing out the final year of his rookie contract on a fifth-year option. Drafting McCoy is a signal to Hill that he's not in the team's future plans. That is, unless he moves to nickelback again, which would be unnecessary, and not the best use of his skill set. Hill is by far at his best and most comfortable as a boundary corner.
Or heck, maybe the Bengals cheap out on Turner, don't extend him, let him walk in free agency, re-sign Hill next offseason for less money, and roll with Dax and Jermod as their new CB tandem. I've predicted as much as far back as a Christmas Day mock draft, except LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane was the pick rather than McCoy.
Read More: Bengals mock draft punts on $180 million investment to anger Joe Burrow
See what the problem is here? When Hill was drafted, he was supposed to be Jessie Bates' eventual successor at free safety. He never fit that position.
The Bengals' next two first-round picks after Hill, Myles Murphy and Amarius Mims, were succession plans for Sam Hubbard and Trent Brown respectively. If not for Brown's Week 3 injury, Mims would've rode the bench as a rookie. Brown was starting in the playoffs this year for the Houston Texans.
You could even argue Shemar Stewart was the hopeful heir apparent to Trey Hendrickson. Suffice it to say, I'm beyond sick of how Cincinnati operates in the draft.
Oh by the way, don't be surprised when one of the top two picks is a left tackle to replace Orlando Brown Jr., who's a free agent in 2027. If McCoy isn't the pick at No. 10, and all the premier defensive prospects are gone (decent likelihood of that happening), I could easily see the Bengals springing for an eventual OBJ protégé.
Anyone else fired up for the draft!?