The NFL Draft is just 104 days away, and predicting what a team will do at this point in the process is usually folly. But that won’t stop us! Yesterday, we took a shot at narrowing down the first-round pick to a few names. That exercise is a bit easier as there is a consensus forming at the top of most draft boards. The second round gets a bit squirrelly.
Obviously, what the Bengals choose to do with the 41st pick will be heavily dictated by free agency and what the team does in the first round. There is a general feeling that the Bengals should address the defense early on in the draft. That feeling is more than justified, especially now that we know that Al Golden will be back in 2026.
The Bengals have had some great second-round picks like Tee Higgins, Jessie Bates III, Joe Mixon, and Tyler Boyd. At the same time, were Demetrius Knight, Kris Jenkins, and Jackson Carman worth those premium picks?
Before the Zac Taylor era, the Bengals picked an offensive player in the second round seven times in a row. Since then, the defense has been the priority with five of the last eight picks. That includes four in a row heading into 2026.
Nothing is set in stone, and the Bengals are frustratingly unpredictable, but let’s try to highlight a few players who could be worthy of the Bengals second-round selection.
