The Cincinnati Bengals are sitting at No. 10 in the NFL Draft, which would be great most years. You get a chance to pick up a falling prospect while desperate teams scoop up potential quarterbacks.
Well, this year, there really isn’t a quarterback making much noise other than Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. On top of that, the way the tiers of talent are shaping up, the Bengals might be in the worst spot.
Depending on who you talk to, there are roughly five to eight blue-chip prospects (several at positions of need for Cincinnati), but then the drop-off to the second tier happens. That tier is fairly robust, where picking early in the second might get you a similar caliber player. That drop-off happens right where the Bengals select.
As you can see in ESPN’s Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft, things can go very poorly for the Bengals, who end up with LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane.
Even with Boye Mafe in the fold, the edge rush leaves a lot to be desired. But with Bain off the board, there isn’t a pass rusher whose value fits here. The Bengals would have to reach for Missouri’s Zion Young, Auburn’s Keldric Faulk or Miami’s Akheem Mesidor, and it’s just too early for any of those guys. But Cincinnati was also one of four teams to give up more than 7 yards per opponent dropback in 2025, and it would love to have a true No. 1 corner. Delane can make plays on the ball (11 pass breakups, two interceptions last season) in either man or zone coverage.
Even Kiper acknowledges the team essentially just missed out on Rueben Bain Jr., who went No. 9 to the Kansas City Chiefs. The pair of Ohio State defenders who could have possibly fallen were also gone.
This is obviously nothing against Delane. He looks to be a very good cornerback prospect. He would probably also be a nice starter eventually. It is just that the cornerback position was the strongest area of the defense last season. The Bengals have been open about trying to get DJ Turner extended, and Dax Hill has also been reliable.
Drafting Delane feels like Hill’s or Turner’s future with the team would be coming to an end while giant holes at other areas on the defense would continue to linger.
It would probably be nice for Cincinnati to trade back in this situation, but without a true blue-chip player or quarterback, the odds of finding a trade partner are slim to none.
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