Bengals Dream 2026 NFL Draft Scenario Revealed For Organization's Top Pick

Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano broke down the dream draft scenarios for every NFL team in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and a falling edge rusher was his pick for the Bengals.

David Bailey is widely expected to go in the top five picks, but if a surprise fall happens, Cincinnati could benefit from that drop. According to the Mock Draft Database's consensus big board, Bailey is the top edge rusher in this class and is ranked third overall.

The Dream

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

"This one might be more of a miracle than a dream scenario," Manzano wrote. "But maybe teams are higher on (Arvell) Reese, (Kendric) Faulk, and Rueben Bain Jr., and the Bengals get the ultimate gift of selecting Bailey at No. 10 to replace the recently departed Hendrickson. Cincinnati desperately needs an impactful edge rusher for a defensive front that appears to be the worst in the NFL on paper. Bailey is the most polished edge rusher in this class, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he can record 10 sacks as a rookie."

The 6-foot-3, 251-pound disruptor was all over the field this past season. The First-Team AP All-American tied for the FBS lead with 14.5 sacks and ranked second nationally with 19.5 TFLs. Bailey played in all 14 games with 13 starts.

He would be a massive addition to Al Golden's defense and could instantly boost that unit up a few spots in the NFL rankings based on his talent alone.

"I think that's got a lot to do with it. I think anybody would say that," Golden said at the 2026 NFL Combine about a better pass rush to close out more wins. "I mean, that's what we all say in this business, right? I mean, you pay what you pay for premium pass rushers. And so you can close those games, you know? And a lot of those games are closed before they get to that. To be quite honest, it's perhaps the series before that, where the game is closed, and you're like, 'Oh, they won by 10.' But the reality is, when they had the lead, they won those third downs, or they got a sack fumble. And now the game has expanded, you see it in the Super Bowl."

Check out the full piece from Manzano here.

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