The Cincinnati Bengals haven't drafted a single Ohio State player in the Joe Burrow era. That is, unless you count Burrow himself as a former Buckeye, which he was in a predominantly non-playing capacity before he transferred to LSU.
Point being, there's a hotbed of NFL talent that Duke Tobin and the scouting department refuse to tap into. Not that drafting an OSU player is a guaranteed hit, but the Buckeyes are right in the Bengals' backyard so to speak.
Here's a list of could've-been Bengals who were passed up in favor of far inferior prospects in recent years. TRIGGER WARNING on the 2025 draft class. As if it wasn't bad enough on its own merits.
- DT Tyler Shelvin over DT Tommy Togiai (Round 4, 2021)
- DE Wyatt Hubert over DE Jonathon Cooper (Round 7, 2021)
- DE Shemar Stewart over OL Donovan Jackson & DT Tyleik Williams (Round 1, 2025)
- LB Barrett Carter over S Lathan Ransom & DE Jack Sawyer (Round 4, 2025)
- OL Jalen Rivers over S Jordan Hancock & CB Denzel Burke (Round 5, 2025)
Ohio State had fourteen players drafted this past year. None of them went to the Bengals.
Maybe that'll change this year. Caleb Downs, anyone? One Buckeye who the Bengals never had a shot at in 2016 could come back around via free agency, though, if some recent predictions are to be believed.
Bengals projected to sign Ohio State top-three draft pick to boost pass rush
ESPN's Aaron Schatz was among multiple contributors to a league-wide offseason predictions piece, and penned the following passage about Cincinnati's prospective acquisition of five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Joey Bosa:
"The Bengals will sign more than one veteran edge rusher, such as Joey Bosa, Yetur Gross-Matos, D.J. Wonnum or Charles Omenihu. As mentioned above, the Bengals will have to attack the edge rusher free agent class with volume."
If we're going with two dudes from that quartet, Bosa must be one of them.
Bosa was the third overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He's still only turning 31 in July. Injuries have plagued his career, and he changed teams for the first time last season, bolting from the Chargers to the Bills.
Perhaps his medical red flags and the perception that he's in decline could deter Duke Tobin and the Bengals brass from signing him. After all, they refused to pay Trey Hendrickson what he was worth entering his age-31 season despite his back-to-back years of 17.5 sacks.
But Bosa isn't likely to command some massive payday. It could be just inside the Bengals' comfort zone. Bosa is also the type of leader who won't allow Cincinnati's defense to live in a comfort zone of its own ineptitude, evident in his reaction to the Bills' 33-30 overtime loss in Denver to bow out of the playoffs:
Joey Bosa just lost it in the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/5tCWGeLlLZ
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 18, 2026
Sign me up for this type of competitive fire!
Also, did you know that Bosa led the NFL in forced fumbles this season with five? And that he ranked as a top-10 pass rusher off the edge by PFF's grades? That's pretty sweet, too. A far cry from the production we can expect out of, you know, Shemar Stewart and Bengals of that ilk.
I'm all for drafting Buckeyes in 2026 like a do-it-all defensive back in Downs, mammoth defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, or even a sure-tackling playmaker at linebacker like Sonny Styles.
Notice how none of those dudes play on the edge, though. Joey Bosa does. And unless Cincinnati wants to roll into Week 1 with Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart as starting defensive ends, it's imperative to land a vet like Bosa to stopgap start until Stewart is ready to rise to that task, if ever he is.