The Bengals have agreed to trade their first-round pick in the 2026 draft to the Giants for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. If/when the deal is done, it will be the first time the Bengals haven’t had a first-round pick in a very long time.
Via Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press, it last happened in 1989, when Troy Aikman was the first pick and four of the first five selections made it to the Hall of Fame. Aikman, Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, Derrick Thomas got to Canton. Tony Mandarich, the second pick that year by the Packers, joined the short list of all-time draft busts.
That year, the Bengals held the 27th pick in a 28-team league, thanks to making it to Super Bowl XXIII. (The 49ers won the John Candy game on a late touchdown.)
In April of that year, the Bengals traded down from No. 27 to No. 35. Cincinnati also picked up a fourth-round pick (No. 89) and a tenth-round pick (No. 256) in what was one of the final years of the 12-round draft.
The Falcons selected receiver Shawn Collins with Cincinnati’s first-round pick. The Bengals picked running back Eric Ball with the 35th pick, linebacker Kerry Owens with the 89th, and defensive back Cornell Holloway with the 256th.
Collins played three years for the Falcons, generating 186 total receiving yards. Ball spent six years with the Bengals, producing 586 total rushing yards.
This proves yet again the very inexact nature of the incoming player-selection process. Which won’t be mentioned much this week. Under the guise of not raining on the parade of possibilities and plausible hope, few will point out that the draft is an inherent crapshoot with plenty of picks that don’t work out — either because of the player or because of the team that drafts him or because of some combination of the two.
