Bengals' first-round draft plans may have just gone up in flames

The Cincinnati Bengals had a nightmare of a season with a 6-11 record as Joe Burrow suffered yet another massive injury. Making matters worse, Burrow's rapid return from turf toe surgery kind of saved the Bengals from a soft tank that could've gotten them higher in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Not that I'm complaining about Burrow being on the field. Any chance to watch him play is a joy and a privilege. However, now that the NFL Scouting Combine is in full swing, Thursday saw some plot twists that could doom Cincinnati's hopes to get a blue-chip player to help their defense with the 10th overall pick.

Miami Hurricanes star Rueben Bain Jr.'s short arm length is a red flag that looks far worse given how some other top Bengals prospects tested. One in particular, actually.

Freak show NFL Scouting Combine performances led by Sonny Styles complicate Bengals' draft approach

First of all, let the record show that earlier this month, Sonny Styles was atop my 2026 NFL Draft big board. Secondly, because I'm a sick, sick man, I wrote a 3,000-word Bengals mock offseason with Sonny Styles as crown jewel 10th overall pick to headline a good-for-freaking-once Cincinnati draft class.

I've since changed the order of this big board a little bit, but just some thoughts here: Styles could be back on top once my post-Combine big board comes out. Also, Arvell Reese and David Bailey are too low. Now and before.

As much as I value the consensus top wide receiver prospects, they're gonna take a slide. Because holy MOLY! What did we just watch when Combine workouts kicked off in Indy on Thursday?

You could say, "Sonny Styles was built in a lab" and honestly, what he does in real life feels like something lab building people couldn't conceive of.

So I know that Styles plays the linebacker position and it's not considered "as valuable" or whatever. But like come on.

Sonny Styles' performance on a Bengals practice field would metaphorically depants the likes of Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter. They are not in the same galaxy as Styles as a prospect, which isn't the biggest knock. Who is or was?

I knew I loved Styles as a player. I was a little skeptical if his listed measurements and what looked like reality-bending on-tape athleticism would check out at the Combine. Umm...yeah he's all that, a bag of potato chips, and nothing short of a generational-looking linebacker.

They called me a madman for wanting Cincinnati to draft Styles and double-dip on vet linebackers who actually know how to execute an NFL defensive scheme. Now I believe there's approx. a zero point zero percent chance Styles falls to the Bengals at 10th overall.

Styles wasn't the only one who lit up Thursday's Underwear Olympics, though. Bailey and Reese went nuclear as well.

Here's the other thing: The Bengals shouldn't act like they're above trading up for one of these three players. Shoot, it might not be a bad idea to do so for Rueben Bain Jr., either!

Problem is, before Thursday, it felt more feasible to only move up a little to be in striking distance for at least Styles. Even getting as high as, say, the third or fourth pick in a trade with the Cardinals or Titans seemed a decent possibility if Cincinnati was willing to make a deal.

Now? Not so much.

Bailey, Reese, and Styles are too transcendent as talents for any of the teams near the top of the order to pass on them. Like for real, they might be the Nos. 2 through 4 picks, in order, after the Las Vegas Raiders presumably draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall.

Given how phenomenal Ohio State's Caleb Downs is as a safety prospect, I can't imagine many scenarios where he reaches the Bengals at No. 10, either.

So again, who's going to be left? If Duke Tobin has the mindset that he'll stick and pick, that's fine. Only if it's complemented by a hyper-aggressive free agency period. If not, then what the heck are we doing?

Thursday made one conclusion crystal-clear, or so I'm led to believe: The dream of Sonny Styles in a Bengals uniform is all but dead.