The Cincinnati Bengals have had perhaps their most productive, meaningful, and Super Bowl mindset-oriented offseason in franchise history. They also brought in a strong 2026 NFL Draft class, used the 10th overall pick to trade for Dexter Lawrence, and scored an intriguing crop of undrafted free agents.
While there are still some concerns about the roster, namely at linebacker and in the suspect wide receiver depth behind Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, perhaps an unexpected answer to one of those spots is now in-house.
The Bengals wasted no time in officially signing five of their seven draft picks and a slew of UDFAs on Friday. Thank goodness the vibes are good on the unsigned top draftees, Cashius Howell and Tacario Davis, as opposed to last year's Shemar Stewart debacle.
#Bengals rookie camp has begun.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) May 8, 2026
Tacario Davis and Cashius Howell are the only players unsigned, but unlike last year with Shemar Stewart, they both signed the participation waiver to take part.
*Holy Grail voice* And there was much rejoicing. pic.twitter.com/58rdmnxtO9
One name in the UDFA category stands out above the rest in the Bengals' announcement as rookie minicamp gets underway, though.
Is Cincinnati LB Jack Dingle the answer to Bengals fans' prayers at linebacker?
Gotta love the potentially juicy storyline of a local college star who defies the odds, makes the 53-man roster, and scores significant playing time.
That'd be the dream scenario for Jack Dingle. More realistically, since the Bengals seem stubborn in their steadfastness to Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., Dingle will be lucky to scrap for a spot on special teams.
Nevertheless, Dingle is nothing to sneeze at. He's a three-year starter with plenty of reps under his belt. He played 13% of his snaps on the edge in 2025, which only enhances his case for a longer look in training camp. Oh, and he's among the most elite athletes at the linebacker position since testing numbers were really kept in an official capacity:
Jack Dingle is a LB prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 9.82 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 65 out of 3460 LB from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/FvjagUF5bb pic.twitter.com/gGoxszCYea
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 6, 2026
Those dynamic physical tools don't come around every day. Dingle had some rough reps in coverage in his first two years as a starter, but he logged a solid 69.9 PFF grade in that department this past season. Curiously, Dingle was only targeted five times on 181 coverage snaps, which suggests he made some real strides there.
This is a relevant point to bring up, because Knight and Carter were both abysmal in the passing game as rookies. Plus, Dingle is a much better athlete than Carter, whose RAS was a solid-not-spectacular 7.46. Just for reference, Knight's RAS came out to an 8.17 mark.
And here's a little glimpse of Dingle at Bengals rookie minicamp. Look at him move!
Former #Bearcats linebacker Jack Dingle working at rookie minicamp with the #Bengals. pic.twitter.com/fk2vugxR0n
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) May 8, 2026
Not gonna get too fired up over footage-on-air of an undrafted free agent in early May, but hey, Who Dey Nation, we need some optimism that this linebacker corps can be better than it is on paper. Perhaps Jack Dingle is the hope we can all cling to.
Forgive me for not buying into the Carter-Knight Year 2 leap hype. There's no way we're running it back with those cats, right?
Add us as a preferred source on Google