"Draft and develop" is an acceptable NFL mantra to live by for any organization, but the key is to, you know, hit on those draft picks and effectively develop those players. The Cincinnati Bengals have fallen short in both those departments in recent years.
Cincinnati tended to draft big-picture, succession-type players in the first round. We're likely in for more of the same in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The problem with that approach is, by mere draft status alone, picks in the later rounds either tend not to get as many reps to develop, or they're thrust into duty before they're ready. Few teams around the league seem to bungle that balance of adept team-building worse than the Bengals.
So here we are. Less than two weeks out from draft night, the team is meeting with a player at a position of need that hasn't been filled since D.J. Reader left in free agency after the 2023 season.
Texas Tech NT Lee Hunter's Bengals visit is bad news for McKinnley Jackson
We can leave open the possibility that the Bengals' 2024 draft class could still prove to be decent. After all, first-round right tackle Amarius Mims looks like something of a hit through two seasons.
But my goodness, what an ugly Day 2 it's looking like for that group. Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. was a second-round pick and is a total nothing burger to date. Would-be WR3 Jermaine Burton already got waived last season, and Burton's fellow healthy-inactive game day staple McKinnley Jackson Jr. is clinging onto the roster for dear life.
Jackson is a space-eating nose tackle who's played well in flashes, yet the coaching staff seldom trusted him to be part of the active roster on a woeful 2025 defensive unit. Doesn't bode well for his future!
...Nor does the fact that, per FanSided's own Ryan Fowler, Cincinnati is hosting a pre-draft visit with Texas Tech nose tackle Lee Hunter this weekend.
Hunter could be a target for the Bengals in the second round with the 41st overall pick. Given how little Jackson has produced to date, it's reasonable to expect that, if Hunter is on the board, Duke Tobin and the scouting department may pull the trigger.
Tobin and the coaching staff seem unwilling to give up on second-year linebackers Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter. They were awful as rookies, but are still penciled in as Week 1 starters.
The Bengals did meet with Hunter's teammate and tackling machine Jacob Rodriguez, who'd be an instant upgrade over Knight and Carter, or so his status as a far superior prospect suggests.
If we as a Who Dey Nation collective can't convince Tobin and his minions to bolster the linebackers corps, perhaps Hunter could at least be a step up from Jackson, and even "prized" 2025 free-agent signing T.J. Slaton.
Drafting a backup nose tackle in the second round sounds bad in theory. Nevertheless, Slaton's contract runs out after this season, and again, Jackson may not crack the 53-man roster regardless of whether Hunter ends up in Cincinnati.