Bengals Bolster Secondary, Take Cornerback Tacario Davis With 72nd Pick in 2026 NFL Draft

The Cincinnati Bengals knew they needed to address their defense this offseason. That was their goal entering the NFL Draft, even after being active in free agency and trading the 10th overall pick for Dexter Lawrence.

After taking Texas A&M edge Cashius Howell with the 41st overall pick on Friday night, they followed it up by taking Washington cornerback Tacario Davis. He had 19 tackles and five passes defensed in seven games last season. He missed six games due to rib/hamstring injuries.

The Bengals liked his size, length and ability to develop into a high-end man-to-man cover corner.

Instant Analysis

Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats cornerback Tacario Davis (1) against the Colorado Buffalos at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Davis has great measurables at 6-4, 194 pounds, nearly 34-inch arms and over an 80-inch wingspan. He ran a 4.41 40-yard dash and projects to be an outside cornerback in the NFL.

"Davis has truly unique measurables for a cornerback, which work against him at times, but his size-speed traits and ball skills are worth the gamble," Dane Brugler wrote in his draft guide. "Though he has tools for press-man teams, he projects best as a zone corner in Cover 3 looks."

The Bengals needed a cornerback, especially one that could play outside. Now they have a developmental piece that can learn behind Dax Hill and DJ Turner.

"Davis is more disruptive than productive with size, length and strength to reroute releases from press. He slams catch windows closed when he’s in the neighborhood," Lance Zierlein wrote in his evaluation. "While his physical traits make a wideout’s job tougher, their route-running prowess can do the same to Davis. He’s average matching breaks and more complicated routes tend to shake him. His long arms help him defend throws from deep zone and make tackles in the open field. An NFL staff should be able to coax more consistent run support from him."

The Bengals entered day two of the NFL Draft knowing they wanted to get a cornerback that could develop and eventually start. Davis was high on their board and on their short list of targets.

Defensive Additions

The Bengals entered the NFL Draft with a new-look defense that included a plethora of free agent additions. Cincinnati signed Bryan Cook, Boye Mafe, Jonathan Allen and Kyle Dugger in free agency. They followed that up by trading for Lawrence earlier this week.

Al Golden praised Bengals ownership for making the additions on Monday after Lawrence was introduced.

"Everything," Golden said when asked what it means. "Just so excited. Such a collaborative effort. So much work that went into it. Whether its ownership, Duke and the front office, all the personnel staff, the coaches, everybody working together to ultimately get, it’s like anything else, there are so many options out there, whether it is free agency or the draft and it’s really not about the one guy you miss or two guys you miss. It’s about acquiring guys that can do the things you are asking them to do at a high level."

For more on the Bengals' draft results, watch the video below:

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