Former Bengals Star Take Shot At Cincinnati Bengals Ahead of 2026 NFL Draft

Cincinnati is trying to beef up its defense this offseason.

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt (57) celebrates an interception in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 17 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Denver Broncos at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. The Bengals took a 30-24 win in overtime to remain in the post season chase. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Former Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt likes to poke at the team he used to play for, and that continued over the weekend. Pratt is highly skeptical that Cincinnati will add any impactful defensive tackles from this year's draft class.

He commented on the situation on X after suiting up at linebacker for the Colts this past season and playing much better than he did for the Bengals in 2024.

"Sorry, they won't draft no dogs on the D-Line," Pratt said in response to another X user saying Florida State defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. should be a Bengal.

Jackson is ranked 82nd on the consensus big board from Mock Draft Database and eighth among defensive tackles. That's a spot Cincinnati needs to keep adding to after posting a bottom-10 quarterback pressure rate this season (23rd) and allowing 5.2 yards per carry (31st).

Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin made it clear he doesn't want to enter the draft with clear holes like that on his team. Beefing up in free agency first is imperative.

“You don't want to be in that position. That's not ideal. Many teams find themselves in that position in today's NFL," Tobin said about having clear holes entering the draft. "I can't imagine what the colleges are going through. Your entire team is a free agent, and you have 22 holes and not two or four. It's not what we want. We want those predetermined. We want to know who's on our team that's going to occupy those needs for us. 

"This year on offense, we feel really good. We feel like that's a unit that's going to be back in full, and we feel like it's a unit that was really hitting its stride and expanding on the stride that it hit. So we feel really good about that side of the ball, and we'll see what we can get done on defense. We need to address what needs to be addressed. We don't bury our heads in the sand. We see what's going on, and we'll try to address it in every way we can.”

The Bengals selected Pratt in the third round (72nd overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent six seasons in Cincinnati.

Check out the full post from Pratt below:

Germaine Pratt Bengals Call Out | Germaine Pratt B

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