The Cincinnati Bengals have struggled in the NFL Draft for most of the past half-decade or so. However, that appears to have changed with a perceived-to-be strong haul in 2026.
We won't know for a number of years whether these seven incoming rookies help reverse the fortunes of a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs for three straight seasons. One thing's for sure: The Bengals didn't shy away from risky prospects.
In the midst of another positive assessment of Cincinnati's draft class, the praise is colored and underscored by the innate risk taken on amongst basically all of the Bengals' draftees.
Connor Lew deemed best value pick in high-variance Bengals NFL Draft class that earns B+ grade
FanSided resident draft expert Mike Luciano pumped up Cincinnati's crop of rookies with a stellar B+ grade. Luciano suggests that the Bengals got a steal in Auburn center Connor Lew in particular with the 128th overall pick:
"The best pick in this draft? Easily Connor Lew at the end of the fourth round. He would've been probably the top center in this draft had he not gotten hurt. A guy who I think could be a long-term starting center for them, provided he's the same as he was before the injury."
Agree with @ByMikeLuciano here on the Bengals' draft grade, but the analysis speaks to how sort of boom/bust this rookie class is.
— Stripe Hype (@StripeHype) May 3, 2026
Connor Lew was the best value pick, but is coming off a torn ACL 😰 Cashius Howell shows a lot of promise, but historically short arms 😬
Ja feel? pic.twitter.com/Ay2mEDGxUZ
Lew is only 20 years old and figures to be a strong successor to Ted Karras. That said, you can see the caption I have above.
Youth and a lack of major preceding injuries bode well for Lew's long-term outlook. A torn ACL isn't some minor setback, though.
Luciano agreed with me that Georgia wideout Colbie Young was a massive reach of a pick and the worst one of the class. Young is also coming off a fractured leg, minimal production during a two-year stint at Georgia, and he pleaded no contest in an assault case. Red flags all over the place there.
Another perceived reach was Washington cornerback Tacario Davis, a towering 6'4" presence in the secondary with legit 4.4 speed but a player whose trajectory has declined in recent years.
Cincinnati's top pick, defensive end Cashius Howell, is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year thanks to his 11.5 sacks at Texas A&M. His arms are shorter than those of Rueben Bain Jr., who fell to the 15th overall pick instead of being drafted inside the top 10 just because of his limb length.
I love me some Landon Robinson in the seventh round. He has similar athletic tools to Bengals legend Geno Atkins. That's both a compliment and a warning about how much Atkins defied the odds to be a superstar.
Brian Parker was mostly a right tackle at Duke who translates best to guard or center in the NFL. He has five-position versatility in theory, yet is he a jack of all trades, master of none? Maybe that's why he was there to be had in the sixth round at No. 189 overall.
Do you see what I'm getting at here? The Bengals bet big on a whole bunch of outliers and risky profiles.
I kind of dig the audacity, not gonna lie. Some of these dicey fellas are bound to work out.
Jack Endries seems like he has that dawg in him. But like, why did Endries fall to the seventh round if he's such a good prospect? Maybe it was the depth of the tight end position in this draft. I don't know. I hope he's great.
Anyway, it's OK to hold the apparent truth that the Bengals made out better in the draft than they usually do while acknowledging that this class could go sideways in a hurry. The roster is almost so good at this point that it's hard to envision a total disaster. What a nice place to be for once as a fan! WHO DEY!
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