Bengals Meet With SEC Safety Ahead of 2026 NFL Draft

The Bengals had another pre-draft visit trickle in over the weekend. Arye Pulli reported Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings had a pre-draft interview with the Bengals.

"Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings has drawn significant interest, interviewing with 12 teams, per source. Among the teams expressing interest are the 49ers, Bengals, Broncos, Giants, Jets, Packers, and Seahawks. The projected early Day Three pick ran a 4.32 (40-Yard dash) in Indy," Pulli posted on X.

Spears-Jennings suited up in all 13 games this past season with 12 starts (59 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one INT, two pass breakups, and one forced fumble).

Safety Meeting

Feb 27, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oklahoma defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings (DB48) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

According to the Mock Draft Database's consensus big board, Spear-Jennings is the 193rd-ranked player overall and would be a strong candidate for one of Cincinnati's two sixth-round picks (No. 189 and No. 199).

They also have two seventh-round picks, sporting extra draft capital entering selection week in a few days. It's a huge stretch for Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin and the rest of the front office.

"I was proud of the group after the bye for figuring out, grinding through, and making the improvements necessary to give us chances," Tobin said about the defense last month. "It would be a different story if I didn’t see young players progressing and I didn’t see a progression of understanding, knowledge, and execution of our defense. It would be a different story. Believe me, it would be a big different story in my mind. But the reason that it’s not is that I see growth. I see growth in a 24-year-old Myles Murphy and young corners who have taken the jump, and Jordan Battle, who has taken the jump. The one thing we really need is we need those guys or somebody else to take on a leadership role and demand the accountability and demand the execution.

"We need more leadership. We have tons of leadership on the offensive side of the ball. We need somebody, multiple people, to step up and lead that group from within our team. And it could come from the outside, and it could come from the inside. We can get improvement from both of those areas. We can get improvement and play from the inside, which I see happening, and we can get improvement from the outside, be it the draft or free agency or however we want to attack it."

Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings has drawn significant interest, interviewing with 12 teams, per source.

Among the teams expressing interest:

🏈 49ers
🏈 Bengals
🏈 Broncos
🏈 Giants
🏈 Jets
🏈 Packers
🏈 Seahawks

The projected early Day 3 pick ran a 4.32 in Indy. pic.twitter.com/R1qrohezxt
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) April 17, 2026

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