Instant NFL Draft Grade: Bengals Reach For Second Offensive Addition of 2026 Cycle

The Bengals continued their 2026 draft pick selections on Saturday by taking Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young with the 140th and final pick in the fourth round.

Young checks in at 6-foot-4, 218 pounds and is coming off an eight-appearance season with the Bulldogs in 2025. He missed the last part of the campaign due to a broken leg. All in all, he posted 26 catches for 358 yards and one score last season.

He transferred to Georgia from Miami (FL) in 2024 and went through an up-and-down stretch with the Bulldogs that included off-field battery and assault charges that were eventually dropped.

A Clear Fourth-Round Reach

Oct 18, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Colbie Young (8) walks into Sanford Stadium before a game against the Mississippi Rebels. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Instant Grade: C-

According to Arif Hasan's consensus big board, this is a huge reach. Young is ranked 233rd on the consensus board and 32nd among wide receivers.

Georgia Bulldogs on SI writer Jonathan Williams broke down his game before the draft.

"When healthy, Young showed the capabilities of being one of the best players on the field," Williams wrote. "As a big body receiver, Young can both get over the top of a defense and make contested catches, and can also be an option in the quick game with his ability to create yards after the catch. So whichever team drafts Young, he may not be one of the headliners of the draft class, but he very well could end up being a player that lasts a long time in the league. And for someone that likely will be selected somewhere around the 5th round, that's all you can really ask for."

It's the fourth round, so reaching this far isn't going to destroy the Bengals chances to contend or anything that severe, but it's still a questionable pick given the board felt he'd be available at Pick 189, 221, or 226 for the Bengals.

This is the second offensive pick of the 2026 cycle (and in a row) from Cincinnati and one of the only offensive additions to the roster so far this offseason. Assistant general manager Trey Brown dove into that defensive focus on Friday night.

“I think anytime you’re going through the process, number one, you’ve got to try and acquire good players at any position," Brown noted. "I don’t think anyone has a problem, whether it be linebacker, wide receiver, tight end, long snapper— if they’re good players, we want to have them here. But I do think we wanted to focus on pressuring the quarterback, getting after people, being physical, and the guys we brought in on the defensive side of the ball check those boxes.”

Young figures to compete for a backup wide receiver role early in his career with the Bengals.

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