The Cincinnati Bengals have one of the top offenses in the NFL when quarterback Joe Burrow is healthy. Their defense, however, has been one of the worst in the league over the past two seasons. The Bengals have attempted to infuse youth at every defensive position and have failed for the most part. Yet, adding talent to the defense is still a must. This is why ESPN’s most recent mock draft has Cincinnati selecting the top safety in the class.
How Does One Mock Draft Have the Bengals Filling a Major Hole on Their Roster?
On Tuesday Morning, Jordan Reid of ESPN released a mock draft. In Reid’s mock draft, he has the Bengals selecting Ohio State safety Caleb Downs at No.10. Adding Downs to the defensive backfield would immediately help Cincinnati’s secondary.
The 21-year-old was ranked as the No.1 safety in the nation entering college in 2023. While he had the choice to play for any of the top schools, he chose Alabama. As a freshman at Alabama, Downs recorded 107 tackles (70 solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and one forced fumble.
Upon legendary head coach Nick Saban’s retirement at the end of the 2023 season, Downs transferred to Ohio State. In two seasons with the Buckeyes, he recorded 150 tackles (94 solo), 12.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions, eight pass deflections, and two forced fumbles. According to PFSN’s CFB safety metric, Downs earned a 90.0 grade in 2024 Â and an 84.1 grade in 2025.
Normally, when a defensive back, especially a safety, is racking up tackles, it isn’t necessarily a good thing. This is because safeties are the last line of defense, meaning that if anything, they should have a lot of combined tackles. In Downs’ case, racking up solo tackles not only proves he is a good last line of defense but is also valuable in run defense.
Not only does Downs have the talent to help a bad Bengals defense, but he also has big-game experience. In three years of college, he made the CFB playoff three times. In 2024, Downs and the Buckeyes reached the mountain top and won the National Championship. While playing in big games is different at the NFL level, it is still important to have that pedigree.
Currently, the Bengals’ starting safeties are Geno Stone and Jordan Battle. Neither player earned higher than a 75.0 impact grade on PFSN’s safety impact metric in 2025. Therefore, drafting Downs at No.10Â to boost their secondary would be a smart idea.
