Bengals land massive draft steal, but not before one monumental reach

The Cincinnati Bengals had an excellent draft by their standards. They made picks that represented excellent value throughout the draft. They also made a couple of reaches.

However, the dichotomy between those two extremes was on display when they made their selections in the fourth and sixth rounds.

According to one analytics site, Pro Football & Sports Network, the Bengals’ draft included one of the biggest steals and significant reaches.

Bengals may have stolen a future starter in Round 6

In the sixth round, the Bengals selected Duke offensive lineman Brian Parker II. 

The versatile former Duke lineman played both tackle positions. Now, thanks to that versatility and because he played center during his high school football career at St. X, the team will ask him to play everywhere along the front, beginning at center. 

Parker was PFSN’s fifth-ranked center and 98th-ranked overall heading into the draft, behind other notables such as Connor Lew, Sam Hecht, Parker Brailsford, and Logan Jones. 

Cincinnati took Parker with the 189th pick in the sixth round, 91 picks and three rounds later than where PFSN thought he would go.

Other players ranked after Parker by PFSN were Jake Slaughter (63), Trey Zuhn (91), Febechi Nwaiwu (106), and Jager Burton (153), who came off the board before the Bengals selected Parker with the 189th pick.  

Now, the Bengals have an offensive lineman who could potentially back up all five positions while hopefully developing into an eventual starter, something they have been unsuccessfully searching for for years. 

Alpha-Omega draft value for Bengals' 4th- and 6th-rounders

On the other end of the value spectrum was Cincinnati’s fourth-round pick, Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young.

The Bengals drafted Young in the fourth round with the 140th pick. PFSN ranked the former Bulldog as their 56th-best wideout and 352nd overall. No, that is not a typo.

You may think that PFSN’s ranking for Young was an outlier, and you would be correct. However, while 352 is so eyebrow-raising that The Rock would be proud of, no draft sites expected Young to hear his name called in the fourth round. 

Pro Football Focus had the Georgia wideout ranked 230th, putting him firmly in the seventh-round, undrafted zone. For comparison, University of Cincinnati’s Jeff Caldwell ranked 195th for PFSN and 181st for PFF but went undrafted.

While the Bengals deserve the praise they are getting, imagine the local reaction if they had taken the undrafted Caldwell in the fourth round. 

Let’s hope everything works out swimmingly for both Young and Caldwell. 

Bengals’ draft success outweighs huge reach

Parker was not the only player the Bengals drafted who represented draft value according to pre-draft prognostications. One national analyst believes one of their selections was the steal of the draft. 

By all accounts, based on need, talent infusion, drafting for 2026 and beyond, Cincinnati nailed the draft. Now we can sit back and enjoy the fruits of a promising offseason, set in motion by substantial free agency, an exciting trade, and an overall successful draft weekend.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow