Cincinnati Bengals Address Offensive Trenches in Post-Senior Bowl Mock Draft

Cincinnati has gone defense first in most mock drafts so far this offseason.

Jan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa (61) against the Indiana Hoosiers during the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — NFL Network draft analyst Lance Zierlein released his first mock draft of the 2026 cycle on Monday and slotted Cincinnati with a rare offensive selection amidst all the mock drafts so far.

The Bengals took Miami (FL) offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa at Pick 10 in this exercise.

"Protecting Joe Burrow must continue to be the priority, so the Bengals can wait on addressing the pass rush. In the hypothetical world of this mock, Mauigoa bumps inside to guard and shores up Cincy's interior," Zierlein wrote.

According to the Mock Draft Database, Mauigoa is the consensus big board's fourth-best player overall and top offensive tackle, just ahead of Utah's Spencer Fano at fifth overall.

The Bengals have Amarius Mims locking up the right side for the foreseeable future, and Orlando Brown Jr. is under contract for this season, but is not tied to Cincinnati after 2026.

Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin knows how important it is to keep Joe Burrow upright after half of his six NFL seasons have been marred by major injuries.

“Our record. We need to win games that we should win, instead of finding ways to lose games that we should win," Tobin said about what needs to change. "But we change every offseason. There'll be new faces, there'll be new players, there'll be new schematics. Our coaches will spend the whole offseason dialing into what went right, what went wrong, and what we build on. How can we change what we do? Our personnel staff will spend the entire off-season on what went right and what went wrong. What can we change in who we are? So, we're working on the who.  

"They'll work on the what. The players need to work on the how. That’s the technique and the assignments. That's why it's the who, the what, and the how; all of that needs to improve. All three phases need to improve. And so there'll be changes through that process. There'll be changes in the who, what we're doing, and how we're getting it accomplished."

Check out the full mock draft from Zierlein here.

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