The Los Angeles Rams proved yet again how much more all-in they are to win a Super Bowl than the Cincinnati Bengals with their trade for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. However, the Bengals' longtime Kansas City Chiefs nemesis could be a big boon to their 2026 NFL Draft class.
As someone who advocated for a McDuffie trade in this space prior to Jalen Davis' emergence as Cincinnati's starting nickel, this isn't the typical, "Why didn't the Bengals do this!?" take. It actually skews positive.
Would I love to see Cincinnati pull off a deal like this? Yes. In lieu of that pipe dream, we can at least celebrate the ramifications of the McDuffie trade.
Chiefs could prioritize drafting a cornerback No. 9 overall after Trent McDuffie trade
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Kansas City will receive the 29th overall pick in this year's draft, plus fifth- and sixth-round picks this year and a 2027 third-rounder. Pretty sweet package right there.
That leaves the Chiefs with the 29th and ninth picks in Round 1. The Bengals have the 10th pick and would love to see a front seven playmaker drop to them in that spot.
With McDuffie out of the picture, and Super Bowl or bust expectations still abound in KC despite Patrick Mahomes coming off a torn ACL, GM Brett Veach needs another long-term anchor in the secondary. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo can't be breaking too many inexperienced players on the back end. It's not like the Chiefs have loads of free-agent cash to spend, either.
All these factors could lead to Kansas City possibly getting first crack at the best cornerback available. LSU's Mansoor Delane, Clemson star Avieon Terrell, and Tennessee's Jermod McCoy are the consensus top three in some order.
This would be wonderful news for the Bengals, who should have two long-term boundary corners in DJ Turner and Dax Hill extended this offseason. Even if those deals don't get done, that's not a pressing need, so drafting Delane or McCoy in particular would be a disgusting squandering of premium draft capital.
Also, now that the Chiefs have a more pronounced need at cornerback, that could put pressure on other needy teams in the position to draft Delane, McCoy, or Terrell before Kansas City does. Even better for Cincinnati!
It's really difficult to envision how the Bengals mess this up now. Granted, the Chiefs could just wait to draft a corner at No. 29, but I'd be surprised. They're easily in range to acquire whomever they believe is this draft's CB1, and Spags' scheme places such an importance on that position.
Who Dey Heads, do you feel how awesome this is for us!? It actually took me a minute to come up with this angle, because I'm used to such grave disappointment when trades like this go down!