CINCINNATI — A theme of the NFL Draft for the Bengals and a compliment to the state of the roster entering and exiting the weekend was how little desperate position-filling happened over the course of seven picks.
Nobody the Bengals selected will be expected to start immediately this season, barring injury.
They will be expected to ratchet up the competition across the depth chart.
Cincinnati’s draft ended up being about applying pressure rather than filling holes. The hole was filled with a 340-pound game-changing defensive tackle named Dexter Lawrence. The rest of the picks put players on notice. The lack of competition immediately at other spots represented a show of support, some far more surprising than others (*cough* linebackers *cough*).
Let’s take a look at who felt the support and who was put on notice on the Bengals roster this weekend.
Support
LBs Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight
There was no bigger winner this entire offseason in this category. Knight and Carter graded among the worst linebackers in the NFL last year and not a single addition has been made to the position group. They are the guys.
“Where they’re starting from is two 100-tackle seasons,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “I think there are a lot of clubs around the league that would say, ‘Man, if I could start with two guys in year two with 100 tackles, I’d love to work with that.’”
You can even lump Oren Burks, Shaka Heyward and Joe Giles-Harris in the category. They will all be relied upon to make the results look dramatically different from last year, even with the same pieces. The supporting cast and experience should make life exponentially easier. The duo did play far better in the second half of the season, so there’s an expectation of starting from a higher level. A veteran addition will be extremely likely and coach Zac Taylor kept open that possibility Saturday, but there aren’t any that will change the reality of the situation. The Bengals’ bet on Carter and Knight just got much bigger.
CB Jalen Davis
One of the best storylines of the second half of last season earned another chapter. The Bengals passed on any slot-focused cornerbacks despite multiple opportunities to go that direction. They selected Tacario Davis in the third round, and while he could play inside, he’s built (6-4, 190) to play outside the numbers. If he plays well, Dax Hill could move inside, but a more likely scenario is that the Bengals stick with Davis. He performed well once elevated from the practice squad and brought stability to the chaos. He re-signed and is currently the starting slot until training camp competition shakes up the scenario.
“We were really impressed with his growth and just watching him this week as he came back,” Golden said. “He’s in great condition right now. His mindset (is good), he’s confident, he knows the defense, so we’re excited about J.D.”
OL Cody Ford
Not until Brian Parker II was selected in the sixth round did the Bengals take a tackle — and Parker’s NFL future more projects inside, though he did start at both tackle spots for Duke. The third round looked prime to fill that spot, but an early run, including Miami’s Markel Bell going four spots ahead of their pick, shifted focus. Ford is still on the roster, a fact that needed to be reiterated by assistant general manager Steven Radicevic on Saturday. There’s potential for a veteran addition still, but his spot feels much more secure Sunday than it did Thursday.
RB Tahj Brooks
This was not the draft to need a running back. That was last year. The Bengals took advantage by snagging Brooks in the sixth round in 2025. He didn’t see much action with Chase Brown and Samaje Perine staying healthy all season, but there was an opportunity for another back to enter the mix. Cincinnati kept focus elsewhere and will roll with the returning three at the top of the depth chart.
On notice
C Ted Karras
I imagine when we approach Karras’ locker on Monday, he’ll have a big smile on his face and welcome the challenge of two projected NFL centers being selected on Day 3. He’s been taking on competition every season of his NFL career. The two-time Super Bowl champ has 116 starts in 10 NFL seasons and is established as part of the 2026 Bengals’ foundational core. But, with the addition of Auburn’s Connor Lew and Parker as well as the 33-year-old entering the final year of his most recent extension, the writing is on the wall that this season could be one last ride in Cincinnati, despite his organizational importance — unless he fends off yet another challenge.
“We’ve got Ted and Ted is our guy,” Radicevic said. “But we do need some competition in that room and we were thin at the center position.”
DT Kris Jenkins
In two short seasons, Jenkins has gone from a second-round pick and future at three technique to a battle for a roster spot with seventh-round pick Landon Robinson, out of Navy. Not only have the Bengals kept B.J. Hill for two years since drafting Jenkins, but they also dropped a two-year, $25 million contract on 31-year-old Jonathan Allen. The seventh-rounder Robinson fires the latest cannon. Jenkins will be in jeopardy of being inactive, traded or even cut if he can’t beat out Robinson, a player defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery loved and stumped for after coaching him at the East-West Shrine Game. Golden called Jenkins the most improved player last training camp, but those words feel like eons ago, considering the moves this offseason.
“It’s going to be great,” Taylor said of the depth on the defensive line. “It’s going to make everyone better; it’s going to make the guys across from them better. There’s not a lot of drop off as you go from guy to guy.”
WR Andrei Iosivas
He knew this was coming. The 2023 sixth-round pick out of Princeton enters the final year of his rookie deal having overachieved for his draft slot while racking up 84 receptions for 1,030 yards and 12 touchdowns in three seasons. Only 46 receivers in the NFL can make the same claim over that time span. The competition was coming, though. Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher called for it at the combine, and the draft delivered. Two years after Jermaine Burton failed to supplant Iosivas, Georgia’s Colbie Young will be given an opportunity. The 6-5, 218-pound Young brings inside-out versatility and a big body with great hands while showing a willingness to impact the game as a blocker. He even offers a skill set to do some of the things Mike Gesicki does as a hybrid tight end receiver.
“I think that length, that speed, the competition he’s faced — (Young) is a great fit for what we do,” Taylor said. “We like to throw the football, and so the more guys that can be added and viewed as weapons is a really good thing for us. We’ve got guys with a lot of length. We have a lot of those guys. You look at Tee (Higgins), Drei and now Colbie, and you look at the tight ends, Gesicki. I feel really good about both the tight end room and receiver room we’ve created.”
Iosivas, specifically, will have his hands full and this certainly pushes him toward free agency after the season ends.
CB DJ Ivey
All Ivey has done is make plays when called upon. His long arms (32 ⅞-inch) and athleticism made him a weapon against opposing tight ends. Yet, after Davis, with longer arms (33 ⅜-inch) and more speed (4.41 40-yard dash), came off the board in the third round, Golden mentioned Davis starting in a role of covering the bigger tight ends on passing downs. That’s a direct shot at Ivey’s primary purpose. As with any seventh-round pick entering his third season, Ivey will have to fight for his position. He’s overachieved to this point and the pressure has been applied to do so again.
