April 5, 2026, 7:00 p.m. ET
Cincinnati Bengals fans have been coming to terms for a little while now that the franchise might use yet another first-round pick on the cornerback position.
Not that Bengals fans don’t like the idea of Caleb Downs at safety or any number of talented pass-rushers.
But cornerback is obviously an issue.
The idea is starting to pick up steam nationally, too.
ESPN’s Field Yates provided another good example recently while chatting about Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy:
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“The race for CB1 is officially on. Both McCoy and LSU’s Mansoor Delane are viewed as top-15 prospects in the class, with the Giants, Commanders, Saints, Chiefs, Bengals and Cowboys as natural landing spots. But McCoy’s health lingered until this pro day workout, as a torn ACL caused him to miss the entire 2025 season and he sat out the combine.”
McCoy is certainly one of those cornerbacks the Bengals could look to draft, too. They have boundary starters with DJ Turner and Dax Hill, but little in the way of depth behind them.
The Bengals somehow have even less at the slot, where they don’t have a starting-caliber player. Josh Newton hasn’t taken over the role.
In theory, drafting a boundary prospect would mean shuffling things around again, perhaps. Downs is the sort of safety who could just play the slot while Bryan Cook and Jordan Battle stay on the field, too.
Regardless, the national side sees the same thing as Bengals fans right now.