It is April, which means it is officially NFL Draft season. It’s been draft season for a while now, but this is the time of the year where the excitement really start to ramp up and we begin to get an idea of which players teams are interested in and who could end up where on draft night.
As we count down the days until the draft, we at EssentiallySports have been creating one 7-round mock draft a day until we cover all 32 NFL teams. We’re almost finished with the top-10, so today, we’re focusing on the Cincinnati Bengals.
Here’s how the draft shook out for Cincy.
Round 1, Pick 10: CB Mansoor Delane
It’s hard to figure out where Mansoor Delane will be drafted on April 23rd. He’s the top cornerback in this class, and pretty much every team picking in the 7-12 range need cornerback help, but it’s not necessarily their biggest need. He could come off the board as early was Washington at No. 7 or as late as Dallas at No. 12. But I have the Bengals taking him 10th overall.
DJ Turner II is fantastic and is coming off his best seasons, but he can’t do it all alone. He needs some help on the other side, and if the Bengals draft Delane, they’ll have one of the best cornerback duos in the entire league.
After three strong years in the ACC, Delane transferred to LSU to play against the best talent in the world in the SEC, and he was lock down. Delane was targeted just 35 times all season and allowed 14 catches (41 percent) for 165 yards and no touchdowns while picking off two passes and breaking up seven more. Almost a third of his targets resulted in a PBU or a interception. That’s pretty incredible.
We’ve seen some great cornerbacks come out of LSU, and Delane is right up there with the best of them. If Cincinnati can get him at 10, then they’re going to be very, very happy.
Round 2, Pick 41: DT Caleb Banks
Caleb Banks is going to be a fascinating one to watch during the draft. He seemed to be a consensus first round talent despite not playing much football during his time at Florida due to multiple foot injuries, but at the combine – where he actually tested really well – he broke his foot and is now rehabbing from yet another foot injury. But it’s hard to deny that he won’t be a good NFL player.
Banks is absolutely massive at 6-foot-6, 327 pounds, but still ran a 5.04-second 40-yard dash with a 32-inch vertical. For a guy that big, those are really good numbers. He has played just 513 pass rush snaps in college, but logged 60 pressures and 6.5 sacks from the interior of the defensive line. He’s a very disruptive pass rusher, but he needs to stay on the field.
If I’m Cincinnati, I’m taking a shot on him at 41 if he’s still there. He’s better than any DT they have on the roster, and they really need pass rush help. They signed Boye Mafe, but they need some push inside, and Banks can provide that…if he can stay healthy.
Round 3, Pick 72: OT Caleb Tiernan
Caleb Tiernan is a very experienced offensive tackle out of Northwestern, who is known to be a very good pass blocker, but he will probably kick inside at the NFL level with his arms measuring in at 32 1/4 inches. Still, Cincinnati has needs at both tackle and on the interior, so they can plug him in wherever they feel he fits best.
During his five years in college, Tiernan gave up a total of 61 pressures and nine sacks in 1,500+ pass blocking snaps. And he did that in the Big 10. There is some work to do in the run game, as is the case with most tackles, but it wasn’t like he was a liability in the run game.
Offensive line isn’t as big of a need for Cincinnati as it has been in the past, but adding a versatile player like Tiernan would certainly help.
Round 4, Pick 110: DE Jaishawn Barham
Jaishawn Barham is one of my favorite mid-round edge rushers. He’s been a solid pass rusher his entire career, posting 20 pressures and 3+ sacks in three of his four seasons, but he’s an incredibly good run defender for his position. In 2024 and 2025, Barham posted an 86.7 and 90.4 run defense grade with 31 and 24 run stops respectively.
The Bengals need pass rush help, but they brought in Boye Made and hope Myles Murphy or Shemar Stewart can take a leap in year two. If one of them can, it’s not as big of a need, but they still need some depth, and Barham can be a quality rotational player off the edge.
Round 6, Pick 189: TE Tanner Koziol
Tanner Koziol could be Joe Burrow’s best friend. He’s 6-foot-7, and has proven to be an excellent pass catcher with 237 receptions, 2,234 yards and 24 touchdowns in his collegiate career. And while there’s work to be done as a blocker, he’s not a horrific blocker, either.
Right now the Bengals are set to roll out a tight end room of Mike Gesicki, Erick All Jr. and Drew Sample. They need to add at least one young pass catcher to that room, and Koziol would be a fun one.
Round 6, Pick 199: S Jalen Huskey
Jalen Huskey has the build you want at safety, standing at 6-foot-1, 196 pounds, but his main deficiency is his speed. He ran in the 4.5s at his pro day, but he makes up for his speed by just being a really good football player.
During his two seasons at Maryland, Huskey totaled 117 tackles and seven interceptions while playing just over 600 coverage snaps. He also gave up just 26 receptions and 272 yards during that span. He’s a great coverage safety who isn’t afraid to come down and get his nose dirty in the run game. I’d take a shot on him in round six.
Round 7, Pick 221: LB Kendal Daniels
Kendal Daniels didn’t have the season he envisioned when he transferred to Oklahoma, but I think he’s a very intriguing prospect. He can play a little bit of everywhere. ESPN has him listed as an edge rusher, but he played 92 snaps on the defensive line, 192 in the box, 196 in the slot and 57 at free safety last season. He’s 6-foot-5, 242 pounds, so he could certainly come off the edge in the league, but he can be a bit of an all-around weapon for someone’s defense.
There’s a lot of polishing to do with his game, but he has great size and is a really good athlete. He’s worth a pick in the seventh round, just to see if you can’t get anything out of him.
Round 7, Pick 226: WR Tyren Montgomery
Tyren Montgomery played DII football at John Carroll, but he put up some massive numbers, catching 119 passes for 1,530 yards and 15 touchdowns in 14 games. He received a late invite to the Senior Bowl, but he dominated practices and looked really sharp. He went from being an undrafted free agent to likely hearing his name called during the draft.
The Bengals don’t necessarily need receiver help, but he would be a very intriguing addition to their offense in the seventh round, if he’s even still on the board then.
