New Bengals mock draft leans into fundamentals, physicality & yes, tackling

Let's face it, the Cincinnati Bengals' 2025 season is effectively over after a 34-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11. Not much else to look forward to other than Joe Burrow's borderline meaningless return to play irrelevant December football.

It'll be great to see Joe Brrr in action again, assuming he suits up. Just a shame that we're staring down a third straight season of Burrow's prime without a playoff berth.

Anyway, much of the fun of NFL fandom is imagining a better tomorrow. So let's do that for the Bengals in this post-Week 11, seven-round mock draft to address the core issues plaguing Cincinnati's historically bad defense in particular. Advanced stats via PFF's big board.

2026 Bengals 7-round mock draft headlined by rise of Ohio State star

Round 1, Pick 9: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State

Look at how Barrett Carter fared on Sunday and tell me the Bengals don't have a need at linebacker. The good news about Sonny Styles is, he had six sacks a season ago for the natty-winning Buckeyes.

Duke Tobin and Cincinnati's front office have a long track record of avoiding Ohio State players like the plague. Whether it's Arvell Reese, Caleb Downs, or Styles, the Bengals just need to pull the trigger on whichever Buckeyes defender is still on the board.

Styles is a converted safety who could start over Carter and second-round pick Demetrius Knight Jr. tomorrow. While he can align on the edge, Styles could also be the long-term successor to Logan Wilson.

PFF has the Bengals rated as the fourth-worst tackling team in the NFL. Might be worse once the final Week 11 numbers roll in.

You know what's dope about Sonny Styles? The young man has 57 combined tackles this season. Zero missed tackles. ZERO. Inhale some of his film. It's phenomenal.

Round 2, Pick 41: Kamari Ramsey, DB, USC

When Steelers tight end Darnell Washington big-boyed his way through the Bengals' buttery defense, the secondary's tackling issues were exposed. Look at Barrett Carter, Geno Stone, and even lockdown corner DJ Turner try to wrangle Pittsburgh's mammoth menace in the open field.

Wish I could say this the only time Cincinnati's back end looked downright embarrassing in Pittsburgh.

Enter: Kamari Ramsey. He was at UCLA before transferring to USC the past couple years. Ramsey's appeal lies in his background as a deep safety, box safety, and nickel cornerback.

Whether he'd replace pending free agent Stone at safety, or work at nickel so that Dax Hill could flex out to the boundary opposite Turner, the Bengals would love to have Ramsey in the fold. You'll notice a theme: Ramsey has missed just one tackle all season.

This dude plays a million miles per hour, yet he's found a way to control himself better in 2025. Hence his soaring draft stock.

Round 3, Pick 73: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo

Concerns about the MAC's competition level have been unfounded for Toledo Rockets prospects like Quinyon Mitchell, Diontae Johnson, Kareem Hunt, and even Bengals special teams ace Tycen Anderson.

Why Anderson hasn't gotten a longer look at safety given Stone's performance in particular is beyond me. Anyway, I'd love to see the Bengals go back to the Toledo well and draft Emmanuel McNeil-Warren on Day 2.

You might be thinking so far, "Another linebacker and two safeties with the top three picks? What are you doing!?" First, I'm thinking outside the box with this mock in general. Secondly, you've notice the boldfaced theme so far, right? To improve on defense, we need guys who can accomplish the primary objectives: Fulfill assignments and finish tackles.

McNeil-Warren's missed tackle rate has risen to 12.1% in 2025, but it was less than 8% the two years prior combined in 140 attempts. His PFF grades in coverage and run defense are 91.2 and 90.4 respectively. He's over 6'3" and eats up ground like few safeties in his class.

As The Athletic's draft guru Dane Brugler revealed in a recent deep-dive piece on McNeil-Warren, the transfer portal was a lucrative temptation, but he opted to stay at Toledo. From that piece, too, check out this perspective from Quinyon himself:

Round 4, Pick 109: Keylan Rutledge, OL, Georgia Tech

Many Bengals fans, myself included, wanted Georgia guard Tate Ratledge, only to watch the Detroit Lions take him off the board in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Ratledge has proceeded to shine in the trenches for the Lions, although Cincinnati did get Ratledge's teammate and starting left guard Dylan Fairchild in Round 3.

Point being, missing out on Georgia's Tate Ratledge opens up the Bengals to get Georgia Tech's Keylan Rutledge in the 2026 draft.

Rutledge pops off the screen when you watch him with his play strength, tenacity, and fluid athleticism in space that's uncommon for a guard. Plus, he's allowed only three sacks on 1,264 pass blocking snaps over the last three years.

Sounds like a fun guy to have at right guard. Maybe the Bengals roll with Jalen Rivers, or bring back vets Lucas Patrick and/or Dalton Risner for depth/competition at that spot. I'd vote for demoting Rivers, keeping Risner, and drafting Rutledge to solidify the offensive line.

2026 Bengals 7-round mock draft: Rounds 5-7

• Round 5, Pick 148: Davison Igbinosun, CB, Ohio State
• Round 6, Pick 187: Zxavian Harris, DL, Ole Miss
• Round 7, Pick 222: Athan Kaliakmanis, QB, Rutgers
• Round 7, Pick 252: John Henry Daley, EDGE, Houston

Another multi-year Ohio State starter? Sign me up. Davison Igbinosun's top-tier physical tools are complemented by his bottom-line production. Igbinosun has allowed an NFL passer rating of 64.8 and a 49.5% completion rate since the start of the 2024 campaign.

Listed at 6'8", 330 pounds, Ole Miss defensive tackle Zxavian Harris is an exotic interior big body who could probably replace draft bust McKinnley Jackson or this past offseason's free-agent signee T.J. Slaton. Harris has four sacks in 2025 and a 78.7 run defense grade.

As for the last two picks, it'd be surprising if Houston's John Henry Daley and Rutgers' Athan Kaliakmanis don't fly up draft boards in the coming months.

Daley boasts an elite 24% pass rush win rate to go with 10 sacks. Can't imagine him being worse than Joseph Ossai, Myles Murphy, or Cam Sample in the Bengals' defensive end rotation.

Kaliakmanis has plus mobility to go with some eye-popping advanced numbers. He averages 11.1 air yards per attempt, only has a 2.3% turnover-worthy play clip, doesn't flinch under pressure (solid 68.3 PFF grade), and only nineteen of his 2,705 passing yards this season have come from screens.

The Bengals could use a new backup QB behind Burrow other than injured 40-year-old Joe Flacco. All due respect to him and what he did in 2023, Jake Browning is no longer in the conversation.

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