Cincinnati Bengals Pass On Premier Talent in Nightmare 2026 Mock Draft Scenario

CINCINNATI — The Bengals passed on what's becoming a fan-favorite draft option in the latest mock draft from NFL.com. Analyst Charles Davis released his first projection this cycle and had the Bengals taking Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles at Pick 10, while OSU safety Caleb Downs went one pick later at Pick 11.

Davis thinks a "top-five talent" like Styles is too good to pass up after Miami (FL) edge rusher Rueben Bain went to the Chiefs at Pick 9.

"Playmakers are needed on all three levels of the defense," Davis wrote in the mock draft. "I know the Bengals spent second- and fourth-round picks on linebackers in last year’s draft, but Styles is a top-five talent they cannot pass up."

Downs got praise from Davis as well, one pick after Styles.

"First-year GM Jon-Eric Sullivan begins his new duties by giving head coach Jeff Hafley a big-time player for his secondary," Davis wrote.

Now, any player in this range figures to have a solid chance of being a star at the next level, but this would be a big board reach, despite Davis's feelings about him. Styles checks in as the 12th-best player on the Mock Draft Database's consensus big board and second-best linebacker behind fellow Buckeye Arvell Reese.

Meanwhile, Downs is ranked eighth overall and first among safeties by 26 slots. Both players could be great in the NFL, and maybe Cincinnati would value Styles more than Downs if both were on the board. Alas, the rankings are the rankings, and it would still be a slight big board reach.

The Bengals and director of player personnel, Duke Tobin, should have a much better sense of their big board at next week's NFL Combine.

"We're just diving into it," Tobin said last month. "The juniors haven't even all fully declared yet. The way college football is now, the universe is hard to pin down. You have your seniors, your juniors, you have sixth-year guys. We have a lot of 24- and 25-year-old guys. And then you have the guys who declare late. I think there's still a game tonight and a game next weekend. And so those players have their own declaration dates where they'll say they're coming in. So until all the juniors really declare what they're going to do, are they going to go back, are they going to transfer, are they going to be in the draft, it's hard to really understand the full universe."

Check out the full mock draft from Davis here.

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