Bengals Hit Multiple Defensive Levels Across Latest Two-Round 2026 Mock Draft

All defense at the top.

Dec 20, 2025; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Cashius Howell (9) rushes the line during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. released his latest two-round mock draft one week away from the 2026 festivities, April 23-25. Cornerback and safety have been the two most popular picks for Cincinnati at No. 10, and that continued here.

Kiper has Cincinnati taking LSU cover man Mansoor Delane as the consensus best cornerback in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Picks Roll Out

Sep 6, 2025; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers cornerback Mansoor Delane (4) is stopped on a play against Louisiana Tech Bulldogs tight end Eli Finley (84) during the first half against Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

"This has become a pretty popular mock draft match, and it makes sense," Kiper wrote. "Cam Taylor-Britt signed in Indianapolis, and the No. 2 corner spot opposite DJ Turner II is up for grabs in Cincinnati. The Bengals have to do something on defense to catch that unit up to the offense a bit; it allowed 7.8 yards per pass attempt in 2025, fourth worst in the league. Delane is technically sound, and he can make plays to get the defense off the field and put the ball in quarterback Joe Burrow's hands. Over four college seasons -- including three at Virginia Tech -- Delane had 27 pass breakups and eight interceptions."

Delane is one of the four most popular pick options for the Bengals over the past week, along with Caleb Downs, Rueben Bain Jr., and Jermod McCoy.

At Pick 41, Cincinnati addressed its edge rushing talent level with Texas A&M outside linebacker Cashius Howell.

"Bengals fans will see 'Texas A&M edge rusher' and have flashbacks to last April, when the team took Shemar Stewart despite his 4.5 sacks over three seasons with the Aggies," Kiper noted. "Stewart ended up with one sack as a rookie. Howell wears the same uniform but is on the other end of the spectrum. He had 11.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss last season. That's big-time production for a Cincinnati team that just lost Trey Hendrickson."

Howell is ranked 32nd on the Mock Draft Database's consensus big board and sixth among edge rushers as Cincinnati lands a nice big board value here.

Zac Taylor and the whole Bengals staff are turning over every stone to hit the right picks next week.

"Every resource imaginable," Taylor said about hunting down prospect details in February. "It's whatever connection we have to someone who's been around them, whatever scouting report we had on them coming out of college. There can be a lot of different ways you approach it. We try to utilize every single one of them to make sure you're getting the right person who walks in. You're not bringing in a problem. You're bringing in one of us, you know, someone who fits our personalities in our locker room. And so we spend a lot of time. We're very careful with who we bring in and try to make the right decisions."

Check out the full mock draft here.

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