Bengals midseason mock draft yields a superb 3-round haul

The Cincinnati Bengals figure to be drafting very late in 2027 if their current pace holds true. Assuming they take care of the Jeffery Simmons-less Tennessee Titans in Week 8, Cincinnati will move to 5-2 before an epic trip to Madrid to face the Falcons.

But just because the Bengals figure to be late in the draft pecking order doesn't mean they can't unearth some exceptional talent. There aren't many glaring needs on the roster, and they're in line to get an extra third-round compensatory pick.

Going off of PFF's mock draft simulator and customizing the order to reflect how I view the Bengals as no worse than the third-best team in the league, we made out pretty well in this scenario...

Bengals 2027 3-round mock draft headlined by new RB1

Round 1, Pick 30: Jadan Baugh, RB, Florida

Chase Brown and Samaje Perine are both on expiring contracts. Unless a trade for, say, Jonathan Taylor, Kenny Gainwell, or Tony Pollard (he's a pending free agent, too) is in the cards, Jadan Baugh is the type of future feature back Cincinnati could use.

Drafting running backs in the first round may be too rich for the blood of some. This is more like an early second-round pick, though, and Baugh's contract would have the built-in fifth-year option to boot.

Baugh's signature performance so far this year was a 142-yard, three-TD effort in a victory over Ole Miss. His 91 yards on 25 carries and a score against Texas may not look impressive on paper, but Baugh makes yards where there's no business being any.

With a 225-pound frame, great short-area quickness and a decisive, one-cut running style, Baugh is the perfect fit for the Bengals' predominant gap run scheme.

Round 2, Pick 62: Jaylen McClain, S, Ohio State

Heading into the Ohio State-Texas game earlier this season, I had my eye on Jaylen McClain and Longhorns safety Jelani McDonald. It'd be dope to get either of them, but I'm going with McClain here.

McClain has an awesome combination of being able to play deep safety but also not miss tackles in run support or after the catch. PFF has McClain with a 20.5 passer rating allowed (two INTs), and zero missed tackles.

Jordan Battle is due to hit free agency. I feel like the Bengals can do better by drafting someone like McClain to stick next to Bryan Cook as Cincinnati's new starting safety tandem. Helps that McClain is a Buckeye and will have plenty of built-in fans as is!

Round 3, Pick 94: Tony Rojas, LB, Penn State

Since Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. will be entering their third season in 2027, it should be OK/non-threatening to draft someone like Tony Rojas late on Day 2. The rationale here is that the Bengals are very thin behind Carter and Knight at linebacker, and Rojas is a phenomenal athlete who'd raise the ceiling of that suspect position group.

Rojas' production through seven games is dizzying: 56 combined tackles (10.5 TFL), five sacks, a forced fumble, and two interceptions. That type of output reminds me of Jacob Rodriguez.

It's still very early in the pre-2027 draft process. Despite a torn ACL last year, Rojas may go much higher than late Round 3 if his medicals check out and he continues balling out like he has.

Round 3, Pick 98: Peter Clarke, TE, Temple

Are we done with Drew Sample yet? Between Sample's being up at the end of the season and Erick All Jr. and Tanner Hudson suffering season-ending injuries, tight end is a huge need for the Bengals.

Not that Cincinnati typically values this position. It's just that Mike Gesicki is a glorified slot receiver and there aren't many good inline candidates on the current roster. Hence the drafting of Peter Clarke here.

It's possible that Clarke will still be available this late since he's newer to football as a graduate of London's NFL Academy. However, Clarke is already very advanced. At 6'6" and 265 pounds, he can mix it up in the trenches and be an excellent pass-catcher from that spot.

Very much in play that Clarke's stock soars in the ensuing months. I will not apologize for who PFF made available to me. This guy would have a chance to be special in Cincy with Joe Burrow throwing him the rock.

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