Cincinnati Bengals Select Popular Fit In Recent 2026 Mock Draft

Pass rushing help is rarely turned away in the NFL.

Texas Tech's David Bailey looks to the sideline during the Big 12 Conference championship football game, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2025, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Pro Football Focus writer Dalton Wasserman dropped a fresh mock draft this week as the NFL regular season gets ready for its final games.

He slotted the Bengals with Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey at Pick 10. Cincinnati could pick anywhere between eighth and 13th this April.

"The Bengals’ lone elite pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson, is likely playing elsewhere in 2026 and beyond," Wasserman wrote. "Cincinnati replaces his pass-rush production here with Texas Tech’s David Bailey, who leads the FBS with a 93.9 PFF pass-rush grade, 77 pressures, and 14 sacks. Bailey could vault himself even further up the board with a big performance against Oregon’s top-ranked pass-blocking unit in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals."

It's a mirror image of what PFF writer Max Chadwick rolled with earlier this month. He had Cincinnati taking Bailey ninth overall in what will likely be a popular fit in mock drafts over the next three months.

Bailey is up to 10th overall on the NFL Mock Draft Database's consensus big board and second among edge rushers behind Miami (FL) star Rueben Bain, who's also been mocked to Cincinnati.

There are nine edge rushers in the top 50, so the Bengals will have plenty of options to take one in the first two rounds, but they may have the highest hit chance with Bain or Bailey on the first go-around.

Check out the full mock draft here.

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