The Cincinnati Bengals have been held back by their management in a major way. Since their trip to the Super Bowl in 2022, they haven’t invested much in the defensive side of the ball, most notably with Trey Hendrickson.
Despite the superstar edge rusher’s insane production, he didn’t get a long-term contract with them. Now he’s a member of the Baltimore Ravens, and the Bengals need immense help with the defense. As a result, it needs to be their sole focus in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Bengals Focus on Defense in the Draft
Since their triumph, they have had a superstar quarterback in his prime in Joe Burrow. Yet, the team has missed the playoffs in three consecutive years. Some of that blame falls on the man under center, missing time due to injury.
But a majority of the problems stem from a defense that has consistently been disastrous. Over the last three years, they have ranked 27th or lower out of 32 teams on PFSN’s Defense Impact.
As a result, they haven’t won more than nine games in any of the three years. Losing Hendrickson for no return was among the most baffling decisions from the franchise. After tallying 17.5 sacks in back-to-back years, the Bengals still did not give him a long-term contract.
Now, their porous defense is left without its best player, and they need to rebuild it on the fly. They began that process in free agency with some shrewd signings in the form of Boye Mafe and Jonathan Allen on the defensive line, alongside Bryan Cook in the secondary.
Ian Cummings of PFSN believes the process should continue through the NFL Draft as well. In his latest mock draft for 2026, he has the Bengals adding six defenders out of their eight total picks.
Starting with Dillon Thieneman and Avieon Terrell in the secondary, they add a defensive tackle in the third round. Caleb Banks, out of Florida, was his choice for Cincinnati, as he wrote, “The 6-foot-6, 335-pound DT is worth the investment with his inhuman burst, quickness, and alignment-diverse disruption potential.”
The fifth-ranked tackle prospect in the draft, according to PFSN, the value for the Bengals at the 72nd pick would be spectacular. But the biggest question mark for him is his complicated injury history, which makes him a major risk.
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Foot issues have continued to bother him throughout his career, and they popped up again in 2025, when an injury caused him to miss most of the 2025 season. That trend worsened at the NFL Combine, where another foot injury has sidelined him till June.
Even with all of these questions, though, it is hard to walk away from the freak-like physical attributes Banks possesses. He put up a nearly historic RAS after suffering a broken foot at the Combine, and if he can fix his injury history, then he could be the ultimate sleeper in this draft.
