Potential Bengals Top Draft Pick Position Reportedly Coming Down to Two-Man Race

ESPN NFL Draft insiders Matt Miller and Field Yates are getting insight from league sources that there are two top candidates to be the first cornerback off the board, maybe to the Bengals at Pick 10.

Jermod McCoy's Pro Day workout at Tennessee has him right in the mix with LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane to be the first CB's taken. They are slated to start getting picked right around the Bengals' 10th selection.

Coming Down The Stretch

Feb 26, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; LSU defensive back Mansoor Delane (DB06) speaks to media members during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

"The race for CB1 is officially on. Both McCoy and LSU's Mansoor Delane are viewed as top-15 prospects in the class, with the Giants, Commanders, Saints, Chiefs, Bengals, and Cowboys as natural landing spots," Yates wrote. "But McCoy's health lingered until this pro day workout, as a torn ACL caused him to miss the entire 2025 season, and he sat out the combine. While scouts on the road had been getting positive reviews about McCoy's recovery, there is a certainty in seeing it on the field. He posted a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash, a 38-inch vertical jump, and a 10-foot-7 broad jump."

Miller had similar feedback from his sources.

"As Field said, the feedback I received from teams was that McCoy is back in the running for CB1," Miller wrote. "There were some questions even from the morning of the workout about what drills he would participate in. But he did everything, including positional drills. Teams love McCoy's size (6-foot, 193 pounds) and his over 1-inch advantage in terms of arm length over Delane -- 31¼ inches compared to 30 inches. And while Delane's elite final season might keep him in the top spot, both players feel like top-12 locks."

According to the Mock Draft Database, Delane is the top cornerback and 10th overall on the consensus big board, and McCoy is second behind him, while being 15th overall.

Either player could be a great pick for the Bengals and director of player personnel, Duke Tobin.

“You want guys that play football well, but you want guys that can play NFL football well," Tobin said about prospect traits at the 2026 NFL Combine. "And those traits are what drive a lot of really great players. And we do like guys that are big enough, fast enough, strong enough. You have to have those things.

"You can't just have desire. Desire with no physical traits. You're gonna be doing my job, and you're not gonna be playing NFL football for us. But there's a marriage between the two."

Check out the full notebook from Miller and Yates here as the draft approaches quickly on April 23.

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