Post-Dexter Lawrence trade Bengals mock draft keeps Duke Tobin's heater aflame

Some other timeline from the multiverse must be spilling over into this one, because the Cincinnati Bengals have either overhauled their front office in the middle of the night, or they've been body-snatched by superior versions of themselves.

All kidding aside, credit where it's due. We at Stripe Hype have begged for months that Cincinnati's brain trust do something to show that they actually have functioning, trustworthy cells in their brains. They did. At long last. They traded for a legitimate superstar in nose tackle Dexter Lawrence.

Sure, it cost the 10th overall pick in Thursday's first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, but who cares? Lawrence is worth the price and whatever he wants in his new contract.

Exciting news, though: Cincinnati still has seven more draft picks to work with. So let's mock up the rest of this rookie class to see what it might look like!

Bengals don't slow down on massive upgrades in 7-round mock draft after spending 10th pick on Dexter Lawrence trade

Round 2, Pick 41 — D'Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana

The juxtaposition of these consecutive transactions, eh? Acquiring a 340-pound behemoth in Lawrence, only to grab an electric cornerback in D'Angelo Ponds, who's 5'8 5/8" and 182 pounds.

Lawrence is quite literally almost two D'Angelos. Nevertheless, Ponds actually has a thicker, sturdier frame than he's given credit for. He's packed on a lot of muscle in recent years without sacrificing his elite athleticism, which was on display at the Combine via his 43.5-inch vertical leap.

With how weird this year's draft is — lack of blue-chip prospects, lack of depth, and now the Bengals throwing a huge wrench into the top 10 — I could see a team before Cincinnati bet on Ponds as an outlier. Maybe as soon as Round 1.

But if he's there at No. 41, this is a sprint-the-card-in scenario for a Bengals secondary who could deploy Ponds on the perimeter or in the slot. He'd most likely find a home as the immediate and long-term starting nickel.

Round 3, Pick 72 — Jaishawn Barham, EDGE, Michigan

A bit of a dice roll here, but Jaishawn Barham is a hybrid off-ball linebacker and edge defender who only began playing the latter spot full-time as of 2025. Barham already has awesome instincts and was a vicious edge-setter versus the run despite weighing only 240 pounds.

Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden could deploy Barham as a strong-side linebacker in base 4-3 alignments, and rotate him in on the edge. That's about as good as you can ask for in the early 70s of the draft for a Cincinnati defense that has needs at both positions Barham is capable of contributing at.

Round 4, Pick 110 — Travis Burke, OT, Memphis

Unless a free agent comes walking through that door at 1 Paycor Stadium, this Bengals roster doesn't have a viable swing tackle. Enter: Memphis' Travis Burke, who has starting experience on the left and right side. He has seen his stock steadily rise throughout the pre-draft process. Burke's 6'9" frame is right in line with the mammoth size Cincinnati covets at tackle.

Round 6, Pick 189 — Landon Robinson, DT, Navy

You'll be hard-pressed to find another prospect the Bengals spent more time with leading into the draft than Navy's interior pass rusher Landon Robinson. The first-team All-American should only benefit from NFL coaching and freedom to focus more exclusively on football away from his service academy responsibilities.

Robinson could be long gone by this pick, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Cincinnati trade back into the fifth round, or trade down earlier in the draft, and get him somewhere else. This selection would put 2024 second-rounder Kris Jenkins Jr. squarely on the roster bubble.

Round 6, Pick 199 — Riley Nowakowski, TE, Indiana

I can't quit Riley Nowakowski. He's too good of an all-around football player to not stick in the NFL — and a far better athlete than he's given credit for.

Nowakowski is a legit pass-catching threat, a technically sound, mauling run blocker, and is everything the Bengals brass has always wanted Drew Sample to be. I've said that before I'm pretty sure. Whatever. Words so nice (not for Drew, sorry good sir) I had to say them twice.

Round 7, Pick 221 — Justin Jefferson, LB, Alabama

Does the seventh round matter? Only a little. Bengals fans would prefer to see the name "Justin Jefferson" in Bengals stripes and have it be the superstar wideout who once played alongside Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase at LSU. Alas, this is JJ the 'backer from Bama for depth/special teams purposes.

Would I be shocked if a seventh-round pick beat out Barrett Carter for the starting green dot linebacker job? No, I would not.

Round 7, Pick 226 — Andre Fuller, CB, Toledo

An in-state product who'd be a nice change-up to the more diminutive Ponds, Andre Fuller hit up the Combine at 6'1", 200 pounds and ran a solid 4.49 40. Fuller allowed only a 42.3% completion rate for Toledo last season, recording one INT, nine pass breakups and a yielded passer rating of only 56.5. In the seventh round? Sign me up!

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