{"id":864681,"date":"2026-04-12T09:06:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T09:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864681\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T09:06:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T09:06:41","slug":"bengals-eyeing-buccaneers-top-draft-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864681\/","title":{"rendered":"Bengals Eyeing Buccaneers&#8217; Top Draft Target"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"submission-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Tampa%2C+FL&amp;city=Tampa&amp;type=Update+Existing+Story&amp;headline=Bengals+Eyeing+Buccaneers%27+Top+Draft+Target&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Ffl%2Ftampa%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F11%2Fbengals-eyeing-buccaneers-draft-target%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69da533d0a333.jpg\" alt=\"A cubist-style painting depicting a football game broken down into sharp, overlapping geometric shapes in navy blue, orange, and white, conveying the competitive nature of the NFL Draft.\" width=\"1344\" height=\"768\" class=\"news-image\"\/>The Bengals&#8217; late push for a top linebacker prospect could disrupt the Buccaneers&#8217; draft plans.Today in Tampa<\/p>\n<p>The Cincinnati Bengals have hosted top linebacker prospect Jacob Rodriguez for a pre-draft visit, putting them in position to potentially steal away a player the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were hoping to select in the upcoming NFL Draft.<\/p>\n<p>        Why it matters<\/p>\n<p>The Buccaneers have had success drafting defensive playmakers in recent years, but losing out on another top target to their AFC counterparts would be a significant blow as they look to reload their roster through the draft.<\/p>\n<p>                The details<\/p>\n<p>Rodriguez, a highly touted linebacker from a top college program, has been on the Buccaneers&#8217; radar for months as they look to add talent and depth to their linebacking corps. However, the Bengals have now hosted the prospect for a top-30 pre-draft visit, indicating they are seriously considering selecting him, potentially before the Buccaneers have a chance to do so.<\/p>\n<p>        The 2023 NFL Draft is scheduled for April 27-29.<\/p>\n<p>          The players<\/p>\n<p>          Jacob Rodriguez<\/p>\n<p>A highly regarded linebacker prospect from a top college program who has drawn interest from both the Buccaneers and Bengals.<\/p>\n<p>Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/p>\n<p>An NFL team based in Tampa, Florida that has had success drafting defensive playmakers in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>Cincinnati Bengals<\/p>\n<p>An NFL team based in Cincinnati, Ohio that is looking to add talent to their roster through the upcoming draft.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Tampa%2C+FL&amp;city=Tampa&amp;type=Upload+Story+Photos&amp;headline=Bengals+Eyeing+Buccaneers%27+Top+Draft+Target&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Ffl%2Ftampa%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F11%2Fbengals-eyeing-buccaneers-draft-target%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a><br \/>\n                What\u2019s next<\/p>\n<p>The 2023 NFL Draft will take place from April 27-29, where the Buccaneers and Bengals will look to add Rodriguez or other top prospects to their respective rosters.<\/p>\n<p>          The takeaway<\/p>\n<p>This story highlights the fierce competition between NFL teams to land the best available talent in the draft, with the Bengals potentially poaching another key target from the Buccaneers&#8217; draft board.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Bengals&#8217; late push for a top linebacker prospect could&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2077],"tags":[211,7,6,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":{"0":"post-864681","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-buccaneers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-tampa-bay","12":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","13":"tag-tampabay","14":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116390946518885081","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864681","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=864681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}