Nov 23, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive lineman Darrell Jackson Jr. (6) prepares for the snap during the first quarter against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Bengals Make Big Board Reaches All Over 5-Round 2026 Mock Draft

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Apr 6, 2026 11:05 AM ET

NFL.com's Chad Reuter released a five-round mock draft over the weekend and had plenty of interesting picks for the Bengals to mull over.

Things started for Cincinnati at Pick 10 by selecting Tennessee cornerback Jerod McCoy.

"McCoy's excellent pro day shut down any questions about his health or athleticism. Dax Hill and DJ Turner II are free agents after this season, and McCoy's presence would allow Hill to play in the slot, creating a strong secondary able to give pass rushers more time to find quarterbacks in the backfield," Reuter wrote.

McCoy is ranked 15th on the Mock Draft Database's consensus big board and second among cornerbacks behind LSU's Mansoor Delane. McCoy was the first of four consecutive reaches when judging off this big board.

Pick List

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Check out the rest of the picks below and their big board ranking:

Pick 41: Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt TE - 52nd on the big board

Pick 72: Darrell Jackson Jr., Florida State DE - 89th

Pick 110: Robert Spears-Jennings, Oklahoma S - 230th

The Bengals do not have a fifth-round pick as of this writing, so the selections for them end at Pick 110.

It's a heavy defensive draft haul as projected throughout this cycle.

Defensive coordinator Al Golden should get plenty of new pieces to work with over the next few months of the offseason.

"My biggest thing is consistency. These guys are grown men," Golden said at the 2026 NFL Combine. "Just be honest and at least try to relate to the best of each one of them, their best version, and they responded. There was a little bit of a leadership vacuum. Trey (Hendrickson) wasn't there, and Logan (Wilson) was in Dallas, so a lot of guys stepped up during that bye week, that break. There was a changing of the guard, if you will. It started with those guys in the locker room and the will to get better. To do that, you have to be honest, starting with me. What do we need to do better? What is the direction we have to go? Just the growth of the linebackers and all that started to come to fruition shortly after that."

Check out the full mock draft from Reuter here.

This article first appeared on Cincinnati Bengals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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