Cincinnati Bengals Take Defensive Star in Post College Football Playoff Mock Draft

CINCINNATI — Spin the wheel on Cincinnati's top trio of projected draft picks this coming April, and you're bound to land on the right mocked selection for the team for any mock draft. Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods got into the mix this time around in Daniel Flick's latest mock draft for Sports Illustrated.

Woods went to Cincinnati at Pick 10 and is one of three players, along with Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, getting mocked to the Bengals most often.

"The Bengals have long struggled defensively, and 2025 was no different," Flick wrote. "They were last in run defense, second-to-last in total defense, and third-to-last in scoring defense. There are holes in several places, but Cincinnati’s interior defensive line stands out as an area of key concern, and Woods is the draft’s best defensive tackle. While the 6' 3", 315-pound Woods didn’t have the junior season expected of him, he’s a twitchy, smooth-moving big man who can stop the run and create interior disruption."

Woods is viewed as the best defensive tackle in the draft, checking in at No. 12 overall on the Mock Draft Database's consensus big board. The next closest defensive tackle on the rankings is Ohio State's Kayden McDonald at 22nd overall.

Downs is currently the top favorite to land with Cincinnati on the MDD (22% chance to get picked by the Bengals), while Woods and Bailey are right behind him. On the outside, a trio of three players is rising to the top for Cincinnati as the best draft fits in 2026.

We'll start getting a sense of how director of player personnel Duke Tobin and the team actually view the top of this class when draft visits start happening in the coming weeks.

"Yeah, successful defenses, in my opinion, they have to be able to pressure the passer," Tobin said earlier this offseason. "You'd like to be able to pressure with four. I think we need a pass rush. I think that relieves some of the strain on the coverage. So I'm a guy who believes in the front on both sides of the ball; that is my focus. People might not believe that, but that is my focus. They might believe I love throwing the ball down the field and having great wideouts. Those opportunities presented themselves, we grabbed them, and we're glad we did. But I want to build the front. I always want to build the front. And so there are several pieces that we think we need and can add, and we'll see if we can."

The 2026 NFL Draft starts April 23.

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