Bengals — 2026 Draft Recap

Welcome back to Muffed. Seven picks, no first-rounder — that capital got spent earlier rebuilding the defensive line — and a board-driven 2026 class that Zac Taylor said the word "upside" four times unprompted to describe. The headliner: Cashius Howell at pick 41, a Texas A&M edge who fell into Cincinnati's lap. The theme is athletic upside on defense, depth and flexibility on offense, and a deliberate bet that best-available beats reaching for fit.

Start with the pick that defines the class. Howell posted 12.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss — first in the SEC, third nationally — and pairs that production with a Relative Athletic Score of 8.13. That's Kent Lee Platte's 0-to-10 grade benchmarking combine and pro-day testing against every player at the position since 1987, so 8.13 lands him in the top fifth of edge defenders ever measured. The motivator is uncomfortable: Cincinnati's 2025 pass defense bled plus 94.04 expected points added through the air and surrendered 33 passing touchdowns, and even 35 sacks couldn't mask the need for another live body off the edge. Taylor called Howell falling to 41 "a pleasant surprise." The secondary investment continued at pick 72 with Washington corner Tacario Davis — an 8.76 Relative Athletic Score and length Taylor called "enormous," comparing his frame to DJ Turner and Dax Hill. The catch: 20 tackles, zero interceptions, 4 pass breakups in an injury-shortened 2025. This bet is on traits and tape, not the box score. "He was injury-bugged a little bit this year," Taylor said. "He's a rare talent."

Flip to offense, where Cincinnati's 2025 passing attack finished at minus 18 expected points added with 24 turnovers — and the Day 3 response was cheap, athletic options for Joe Burrow. Georgia receiver Colbie Young at pick 140 put up 26 catches for 358 yards and a touchdown, but the number that pops is plus 0.67 predicted points added per play — the college equivalent of NFL expected points added. Elite-per-touch production in a limited role, backed by a 9.01 Relative Athletic Score, top tenth of receivers ever tested. Then at pick 221, Texas tight end Jack Endries — 33 catches, 346 yards, 3 touchdowns, an 8.84 Relative Athletic Score, and a Taylor mandate to compete behind Erick All "in all phases — special teams, run game, pass game."

The offensive line — which absorbed 36 sacks and 100 quarterback hits in 2025 — got two Day 3 darts. Auburn center Connor Lew headlines at pick 128, a 21-year-old interior anchor. Then Duke's Brian Parker II at 189, who Taylor was openly excited about for one reason: positional flexibility. Parker carries a 9.21 Relative Athletic Score at center — top seven percent of interior linemen ever measured — and Taylor said on a 1-to-10 rareness scale, a credible five-position lineman is closer to a 10. Developmental swing, real positional value baked in.

Last off the board: Navy nose tackle Landon Robinson at 226, who Taylor called "too good to pass up." Robinson's 64 tackles, 8 for loss, and 6 sacks ranked fourth in his conference — loud production for an interior defender at a service academy. His 9.45 Relative Athletic Score puts him in the top six percent of defensive tackles ever tested. Taylor coached him at the East-West Shrine Bowl, brought him in for a top-30 visit, and said he "checked every box." Cincinnati's 2025 run defense gave up 148 yards per game and 18 rushing touchdowns — Robinson's a depth bet with a real ceiling.

Pick of the draft? You can argue Davis on length and traits, but the answer is Howell, and the reason is scarcity. Cincinnati spent the entire offseason rebuilding the defensive front through trades and free agency, and landing an SEC sack leader at 41 — a guy their own mocks had going earlier — is the value-meets-need intersection that turns a class into a multi-year payoff. Davis is the higher-variance bet: injury history, empty interception column. Howell's floor is higher, his role is clearer, his tape doesn't require projection.

Looking ahead to 2026, the defensive line is no longer the question. Taylor's front now runs three-deep with veterans, second-year players, and rookies competing, and he said directly he's "really excited" about that room. Linebacker is the open question — Taylor admitted the board never gave them value there, so it's free agency or roll forward. The stress test: can Howell and Davis patch a pass defense that hemorrhaged expected points, while the offensive depth develops behind a Burrow group that has to stop turning it over 24 times a year? No first-rounder, no quarterback drama, no contract noise — just seven swings on athletes with real ceilings.