Cincinnati Bengals Select Familiar Defensive Prospect in Latest Mock Draft

CINCINNATI — The Bengals have been attached to four clear names across early mock drafts for the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft so far: Miami (FL) DE Rueben Bain Jr., Texas Tech DE David Bailey, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, and Clemson DT Peter Woods.

The Athletic's Dane Brugler kept that trend rolling by slotting Bain to Cincinnati in his second mock draft of the cycle. Kansas City took Downs one pick before Cincinnati.

"At this early juncture, defensive line is the overwhelming favorite to be the Bengals’ pick," Brugler wrote. "Because of his 'tweener' skills and lack of length, Bain is one of the more polarizing prospects in this class. Even if he falls short in a few areas, however, he is a stout run defender with the relentless power as a pass rusher to kick down the door to the pocket."

He sees Downs as a "difference-maker" for any team that gets him.

"There certainly is a case to be made that a wide receiver (Carnell Tate, if he’s available) or tight end (Kenyon Sadiq) could be the weapon Kansas City has been desperately missing on offense," Brugler noted. "But Downs is a difference-maker, both with his impact on the field and within the culture of the team. One could argue that he is the best safety prospect since Eric Berry, a top-10 pick of the Chiefs 16 years ago."

Both players are consensus top 10 talents on the Mock Draft Database's consensus big board (Bain is third and Downs is sixth). There may not be a bad option out of those two if either is available for the Bengals.

That got a little less likely on Wednesday after projected top 10 pick Dante Moore announced he is returning to Oregon as their starting quarterback. Another non-QB blue-chipper will probably get picked before Cincinnati is up (Ty Simpson is the second-highest rated quarterback behind Fernando Mendoza at 20th overall).

Check out the top mock-drafted players to Cincinnati over the past two weeks from the MDD:

NFL Mock Draft Database Bengals Picks | NFL Mock Draft Database

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