{"id":858793,"date":"2026-04-07T11:38:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/858793\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T11:38:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:38:18","slug":"bengals-news-4-7-best-case-scenario-in-nfl-draft-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/858793\/","title":{"rendered":"Bengals News (4\/7): Best-case scenario in NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/news\/2026-nfl-draft-ideal-top-two-picks-for-every-team\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:2026 NFL Draft: Ideal top two picks for every team;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;2026 NFL Draft&quot;}\" class=\"link \">2026 NFL Draft: Ideal top two picks for every team<\/a><br \/>This would pretty much be a dream scenario. Who knows if Downs is even available for the Bengals at 10, or if Woods could somehow make it all the way to 41? But there were good defensive options beyond those two for Cincinnati in both slots. Pairing Downs with free agent Bryan Cook would give the Bengals the most upgraded safety room in the league, and landing Woods would prevent them from having to sign a veteran inside.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bengals.com\/news\/quick-hits-dan-hurley-bengals-fan-final-four-jimmy-burrow\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Quick Hits | Burrows and Bengaldom watching Fan Boy Hurley;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Quick Hits | Burrows and Bengaldom watching Fan Boy Hurley&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Quick Hits | Burrows and Bengaldom watching Fan Boy Hurley<br \/><\/a>\u201cI\u2019m sure he only got about 10,000 today. At least he\u2019ll know one of these days,\u201d Jimmy Burrow says. \u201cIt\u2019ll be something like, \u2018Good luck, win another one.\u2019 He doesn\u2019t need any motivation or advice. He knows how to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bengals.com\/news\/2026-nfl-draft-top-prospects-wide-receivers-carnell-tate-makai-lemon\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:2026 NFL Draft Prospect Primer: Wide Receivers;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;2026 NFL Draft Prospect Primer&quot;}\" class=\"link \">2026 NFL Draft Prospect Primer: Wide Receivers<\/a><br \/>Tate declared for the NFL Draft after his junior season. He was named Second-team Associated Press All-American in 2025 as well as First-team All-Big Ten Conference, catching 51 passes for 875 yards and nine touchdowns. He started all 15 games in 2024 for the eventual National Champion Buckeyes, catching 52 passes for 733 yards and four scores.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bengalswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/bengals\/2026\/04\/06\/bengals-best-nfl-draft-fit-developmental-big-weapon-eli-raridon\/89485529007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Bengals tabbed as best NFL draft fit for developmental big weapon;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Bengals tabbed as best NFL draft fit for developmental big weapon&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Bengals tabbed as best NFL draft fit for developmental big weapon<\/a><br \/>\u201cMike Gesicki is back with the Cincinnati Bengals, but he\u2019s obviously a temporary solution at tight end. Notre Dame\u2019s Eli Raridon took a nice step forward in 2025, producing 32 receptions for 482 yards (15.1 yards per catch). Raridon is a primary pass catcher, but plays with enough in-line blocking technique to suggest he\u2019s capable of expanding his horizons in the NFL.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/bengals\/onsi\/news\/cincinnati-bengals-hosting-explosive-draft-prospect-for-key-pre-draft-visit-01knhwfpn8n9\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Cincinnati Bengals Hosting Explosive Draft Prospect for Key Pre-Draft Visit;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Cincinnati Bengals Hosting Explosive Draft Prospect for Key Pre-Draft Visit&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Cincinnati Bengals Hosting Explosive Draft Prospect for Key Pre-Draft Visit<\/a><br \/>Love totaled 3,476 scrimmage yards, and 42 touchdowns through three years at Notre Dame and was a massive reason why the team reached the National Championship in 2025. He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy last season, and earned unanimous All-American honors before declaring for the NFL draft.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stripehype.com\/ultimate-dream-trade-candidate-just-fell-right-into-bengals-lap\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Ultimate dream trade candidate just fell right into Bengals\u2019 lap;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Ultimate dream trade candidate just fell right into Bengals\u2019 lap&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Ultimate dream trade candidate just fell right into Bengals\u2019 lap<\/a><br \/>We\u2019re entering the home stretch prior to the 2026 NFL Draft, and while the Cincinnati Bengals should focus on building their defense with a strong rookie class, they could just spend a top pick on a proven veteran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026 NFL Draft: Ideal top two picks for every teamThis would pretty much be a dream scenario. Who&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":858794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2053],"tags":[4955,228,35570,227,256,2296,7,117102,18721,6,2729],"class_list":{"0":"post-858793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-bengals","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-bengals","10":"tag-bryan-cook","11":"tag-cincinnati","12":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","13":"tag-cincinnatibengals","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-jimmy-burrow","16":"tag-mike-gesicki","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-zac-taylor"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116363231637503837","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}