Prisoner of the moment Bengals mock draft doubles down on Joe Burrow & offense

Look y'all. As long as you're stuck with me in this space, we'll have plenty of Cincinnati Bengals mock drafts to go through in the offseason. Countless scenarios. Once free agency hits, the whole game will probably change.

Speaking of game-changers, though, how about Joe Burrow!? Wow. Beating the snot out of the Ravens on Thanksgiving in his return shows that Burrow can carry the team.

An almost bigger story, however, was just how good the defense was in forcing five Baltimore turnovers. Yes, the historically bad Bengals D made Burrow's counterpart, Lamar Jackson, look rather ordinary.

So let's pretend like Cincinnati has solved its myriad defensive issues, and that a couple free agents will go a long way to bolster that group. What if the Bengals could actually double down on offense at the top of a mock draft?

Let's fire up the PFF mock sim to see what we can do with that mindset. I'm tired of just banging on the "WE NEED DEFENSE" drum. What a refreshing change of pace this will be!

2026 Cincinnati Bengals 3-round mock draft after Week 13's Thanksgiving win over Ravens

Round 1, Pick 9: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame

Oh my goodness. To all the other NFL front offices out there, I'm telling you right now. Do not let Joe Burrow get a special talent like Jeremiyah Love to flank him in the backfield.

In this simulation, Love is still on the board for the Bengals at No. 9. I know what you must be thinking, reader. Chase Brown is plenty good enough. He just capped off his franchise-record sixth straight game of 100+ yards from scrimmage in Thanksgiving's 32-14 win in Baltimore.

This isn't an anti-Chase Brown pick. Or a lacking endorsement for him. It's a reflection of how special Love is, how much he could help protect Burrow, and how dynamic this offense could be with two fresh-legged backs of their caliber.

Jeremiyah Love is jaw-dropping. Imagine how he could cook with Burrow and the passing attack opening up running lanes for him.

Round 2, Pick 41: Caleb Tiernan, OT, Northwestern

As well as Orlando Brown Jr. played in Week 13 against the Ravens, it'd be worth it to me to upgrade the swing tackle spot in the near term, and try to find Brown's heir apparent for the future. Caleb Tiernan fits the bill.

At 6'7" and 320 pounds, Tiernan is an athletic marvel at that size with great movement skills and sound technique in pass protection. Brown is a little more of a lumbering body who was called for two false starts on Thanksgiving. He jumps early almost every single play. I don't know that he's for super-long as an above-average starter protecting Burrow's blind side.

Brown also enters a contract year in 2026. Cincinnati was reticent to pay Trey Hendrickson big money after back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons. OBJ hasn't played anywhere near that well, and will command a similar near-top-of-market payday to Hendrickson.

Before things get too weird with Brown, the Bengals should get ahead of it by drafting someone like Tiernan. He's allowed one sack in 734 pass blocking snaps, including 399 one-on-one reps, per Coach Dan Casey on X.

Some advanced data shows Tiernan has similar traits to the likes of Kelvin Banks Jr. and Charles Cross, too. Not bad company!

Round 3, Pick 73: Jake Golday, LB, Cincinnati

If the Bengals lose out on the goldmine of Ohio State talent that should be in the draft, they should stick in the Buckeye State to upgrade a key area of the defense.

It's unclear if Cincinnati Bearcats linebacker Jake Golday will be available this late once the draft finally rolls around, but my goodness what a get he'd be. Golday explains in the video below how he transitioned from an edge defender to middle linebacker in college and found a new love for the game.

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic compiles an annual Freaks List of college players who have superb athleticism. This year's eidition featured Golday, who per Feldman, clocked a 4.22-second 20-yard shuttle, a 10'7" broad jump, a 1.54-second 10-yard split in the 40-yard dash, and 24 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.

Guess who those numbers are similar to? None other than past Lions first-round pick and PFF's No. 2 linebacker in the NFL this year, Jack Campbell.

Oh, and Golday has clocked in on the GPS as high as 22.16 mph. Dude can freaking fly.

Athleticism isn't everything. Just ask the Bengals' latest first-round pick in defensive end Shemar Stewart. His injury-plagued rookie campaign didn't look good even before he got banged up. His 4.5 sacks in three seasons at Texas A&M translated to lackluster impact on an NFL field.

At least when it comes to Golday, he has the stats to back up the attention-seizing eye test that suggests a Pro Bowl-caliber NFL future.

Pretty confident Golday is a better prospect than Bengals rookies Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter, who've been huge contributors to Cincinnati's defensive woes. Would love to see a supreme athlete like Golday added to the Bengals' linebacker room.

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