Cincy Jungle
The Cincinnati Bengals are officially picking 10th overall this year. Let’s take a look at 10 prospects that could be near the top of their big board for the upcoming NFL Draft.
Downs officially declared for the draft on Wednesday afternoon. The Ohio State safety has been a starter during all three seasons of his collegiate career. He spent his first season at Alabama, followed by his final two with the Buckeyes. The All-American could be the rare safety that gets selected inside the top 10. Downs is considered a coach on the field, a ferocious run defender, and had an 89.6 coverage grade during the 2025 season.
Bain has been on an absolute tear during the college football playoffs this year for Miami. In just two games, the Hurricanes edge rusher has 16 total pressures and 4 sacks. While he doesn’t have the longest arms, he is a stout run defender, a powerful pass rusher, and he won’t even turn 21 years old until September of 2026. Bain has the added versatility at 277 pounds to kick inside at times in obvious passing situations.
Woods is another player that is still just 20 years old. The Clemson defensive tackle didn’t have the statistical season that many expected. Even so, he still had a 16.8% win rate on true pass sets in 2025. Combine that with his 10.1% stop rate, this is an impactful 3-tech prospect. Woods spent time playing at edge for Clemson in 2024, even though he weighs around 315 pounds. That is a testament to the quickness of his feet, and ability to marry that with proper usage of his hands.
Bailey had a monster season for Texas Tech in 2025, after transferring from Stanford. He recorded 14.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles this year. He is an absolute terror for opposing offensive tackles. His quickness off the snap, bend around the edge, and advanced pass rush arsenal are all reasons that Bailey should end up being selected in the top 10 this year.
Arvell Reese got off to a hot start the first half of the season for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He ended up with 6.5 sacks on the season, but none of them came in his final six games of the year. Reese is a hybrid linebacker/edge prospect. I could see Al Golden envisioning him as the perfect prospect for his Vyper role. Reese has great athleticism, and should test really well this year. If he ends up dropping down to the 10th pick, I am not ruling out the Bengals making him the selection.
Arvell Reese’s running mate at linebacker for the Buckeyes was Sonny Styles. Styles is a converted safety prospect that has continued improving at linebacker over the last two seasons. Styles ended the season with just a 2.2% missed tackle rate, not having any of them until the final game against...
