2026 NFL Draft Team Needs & Predictions: Bengals

This is where things get… awkward.

Teams picking ninth through 12th usually don’t expect to be here — and for franchises like the Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, and Dallas Cowboys, selecting this high signals a season that fell short of expectations.

These aren’t rebuilding rosters (other than the Miami Dolphins).

These are teams with established franchise quarterbacks, strong cores, and playoff aspirations. But something broke — whether it was injuries, defensive regression, cap strain, coaching turnover, or roster imbalance.

That’s what makes this range fascinating.

These front offices aren’t drafting for survival. They’re drafting to recalibrate. The goal isn’t to build a foundation — it’s to fix what prevented a deep playoff run.

And unlike the teams at the very top, these organizations must balance immediate impact with long-term cap sustainability. Extensions are looming. Core players are aging. Windows don’t stay open forever.

In this batch, we break down:

The biggest roster holes for each franchise
Contract situations and future cap implications
Which positions should be prioritized for veterans and rookies
Potential fantasy football implications

These are the teams that don’t want to be here — but could use this draft slot to reload in a big way.

Up next: the Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, and Dallas Cowboys.

Salary cap contract information provided by Spotrac.

2026 NFL Draft Team Needs & Predictions: Cincinnati Bengals

Team Needs: EDGE, LB, DT

2026 Free Agent Key Losses:

G Cordell Volson, TE Noah Fant, EDGE Trey Hendrickson, EDGE Joseph Ossai, S Geno Stone, CB Marco Wilson, CB Cam Taylor-Britt, QB Jake Browning

2026 Free Agents:

2027 Free Agents:

QB: Sean Clifford (RFA)
RB: Samaje Perine, Gary Brightwell, Chase Brown
WR: Charlie Jones, Mitchell Tinsley (ERFA), Andrei Iosivas, Ke’Shawn Williams (ERFA), Xavier Johnson (ERFA), Jordan Moore (ERFA)
TE: Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson, Cam Grandy (RFA)
OL: LT Cody Ford, C Ted Karras, RT Javon Foster (ERFA), RT Andrew Coker (ERFA), C Jacob Bayer (ERFA), OG Dalton Risner
EDGE: Myles Murphy (CLUB), Isaiah Foskey (RFA), Antwaun Powell-Ryland (ERFA)
DL: Tedarrell Slaton, Howard Cross (ERFA)
LB: Oren Burks, Joe Giles-Harris, Shaka Heyward (ERFA), Liam Anderson (ERFA)
CB: Daxton Hill, D.J. Turner, Bralyn Lux (ERFA), D.J. Ivey, Jalen Davis
S: Jordan Battle, Russ Yeast, P.J. Jules (ERFA), Jalen Kimber (ERFA)
ST: Ryan Rehkow (RFA)

Say it with me. DEFENSE. No defense has more missed tackles than the Bengals did in 2025. Dead last in rushing yards allowed per game (147.1).

Aside from their No. 1 CB, DJ Turner (also entering the last year of his contract), this defense has nothing going right for it in 2025.

Trey Hendrickson is not coming back. Joseph Ossai led the team in pressures but he’s also not returning.

DT BJ Hill was intitially rumored to be a cut candidate (The Athletic), although the DC and GM praised that he is part of their defensive solution. DT Kris Jenkins is still under contract.

EDGE rusher Boye Mafe signed a three-year deal worth $60 million. And they signed DT Jonathan Allen to a two-year deal.

The linebackers and safeties on this team were mostly abysmal (hence why they were so bad versus tight ends) outside of safety Jordan Battle (contract year). The back-end was constantly giving up huge plays. Starting safety Geno Stone left as a free agent. Nickel cornerback Jalen Davis will return on a one-year deal.

They inked a free agent deal with safety Bryan Cook.

Second-year defensive coordinator Al Golden is going to have his work cut out for him. But at least the defense did show signs of improvement later down the stretch.

Golden also expressed an interest in linebackers who can offer a combo of skills (The Athletic). It’s a perfect draft class for that player archetype: a LB that blitzes, rushes off the edge, etc. Also hyped up a slot-hybrid safety.

Keep in mind that the Bengals don’t have many defensive free agents because they have a lot of young players starting (particularly at linebacker/cornerback) in 2025. They threw two rookie LBs into the fire….and got burned.

Golden was the former DC at Notre Dame from 2022-2024, so don’t overlook the connection in this year’s class with incoming rookies like OG Billy Schrauth and safety Jalen Stroman.

The offense is stacked across the skill positions, so everything Cincy does this offseason needs to be built around improving the defensive side of the football. Worth noting that their offensive line has holes on the interior, with center Ted Karras also entering the last year of his contract in 2026. They re-signed Dalton Risner to a one-year deal before free agency started.

You could also see the Bengals look at RB – but with both Chase Brown and Samaje Perine under contract for 2026, I think this is an issue they kick down the road. Still, always a chance they will shake up the backfield by selecting one of these highly coveted Notre Dame RBs. OC Dan Pitcher spoke about wanting to create more explosives on 1st and 2nd down in 2026 (while also putting Joe Burrow under center more).

Pain.