Bengals' strange second wave of free agency teases potential draft shocker

Do the Cincinnati Bengals have a master plan in place this offseason to go all-in for a Super Bowl? The math might be starting to math a little better.

The seemingly scattershot signing of dubious nickelback Ja'Sir Taylor on Thursday preceded yet another move to deepen Cincinnati's secondary. Ex-Pittsburgh Steelers safety Kyle Dugger has defected to the Bengals on a one-year contract, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Thursday brought about all kinds of bad news for any Who Dey Heads wanting to see Ohio State safety Caleb Downs in Orange and Black Stripes in the Queen City.

...Or are these two player pickups bad news? Call me nuts, but I'm starting to believe something larger is afoot here...

Bengals steal safety Kyle Dugger from AFC North rival Steelers...what is going on?

Drafting Downs or Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman with the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft — or Toledo's Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in a trade-down scenario — seems redundant all of a sudden.

Now that Duke Tobin and Co. have signed Bryan Cook in free agency, retained nickelback Jalen Davis, and added Taylor and Dugger to the mix, why spend such a premium draft pick on a similar-style player? Unless the unwavering plan is to move off Jordan Battle, it'd make very little sense.

Dugger could easily start at safety or nickel. For those who don't recall, he pick-sixed Joe Flacco in Week 11 last season:

So where does signing Taylor and Dugger leave the Bengals in the first round of the draft? An obvious need they could've targeted at No. 10 feels a lot less pressing.

Unfortunately, the top edge defenders like Miami's Rueben Bain Jr., Ohio State hybrid Arvell Reese, and Texas Tech star David Bailey are expected to fly off the board before Cincinnati is on the clock. The same goes for stud Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles, my dream pick.

Many will argue one-year deals for Davis, Taylor, and Dugger, plus taking into account the fact that Battle is in a contract year, should have no bearing on the Bengals' decision with their first-round pick. I couldn't disagree more.

The last time the Bengals traded up in the first round was infamous. They scored the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 draft to select bust running back Ki-Jana Carter.

We're overdue for that sort of bold move that is otherwise the mere stuff of multiversal fantasy. And it just may, you know, work out this time!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Cincinnati has never had a better chance at a Super Bowl on paper, because Joe Burrow is the best quarterback in franchise history. He's also not going to stick around for much longer if the team misses the playoffs for a fourth straight year.

Sure, the 2027 draft is perceived to be "better", but the Bengals shouldn't expect to draft this high ever again in Burrow's career if they're competent enough to put a passable roster around him. Now is the time to push all the chips into the middle of the table, trade up in Round 1, and guarantee a blue-chip, instant-impact defensive prospect who can give this year's team a major lift.

If signing a career starter like Dugger symbolizes anything other than competition for Battle and/or Davis, it'll be a disappointment of the highest order.

There is zero excuse for the Bengals not to trade up from 10th overall now. This year is quite literally all that matters as far as Burrow's future outlook in Cincinnati. Make Andrew Whitworth proud, Bengals brass. Take that big swing at long last. If you won't spend the money, spend the draft capital. It's well past time to do something truly special.