{"id":874261,"date":"2026-04-25T12:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/874261\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T12:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:24:16","slug":"best-available-players-for-day-3-of-the-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/874261\/","title":{"rendered":"Best available players for Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> are in a fortunate situation going into Day where their needs align perfectly with the best available players. However, the problem is that they still have a lot of needs, and after their pick at 110, they will have to sit and wait for 79 picks to roll by before they make their next selection.<\/p>\n

Here are the best available players they could target in Round 4.<\/p>\n

The Bengals could use an upgrade at slot cornerback, and there are three players available with the potential to do that on day one.<\/p>\n

Miami\u2019s Keionte Scott excels in coverage and against the run. What really makes him unique is his knack for blitzing that rivals Bengals legend Mike Hilton.<\/p>\n

Jalon Kilgore took over for Nick Emmanwori as South Carolina\u2019s safety, but projects well as a nickel. He\u2019s smart and a leader, physical and fast.<\/p>\n

Finally, there is Duke\u2019s Chandler Rivers, who may be undersized, but that doesn\u2019t stop him from getting his hand on the ball.<\/p>\n

The Bengals need a swing tackle, and we all know they have a type. 6\u20199\u201d 325 Memphis tiger Travis Burke would fit in nicely, as would the ironically named Diego Pounds, who is 6\u20196\u201d 325. Or the Bengals could go back to their favorite school and snag Texas A&M\u2019s 6\u20197\u201d 319 Dametrious Crownover.<\/p>\n

All three are massive human beings, but still waiting to get picked on Saturday for a reason. Leave that up to offensive line coach Scott Peters.<\/p>\n

The Bengals do not currently have a backup center, and Ted Karras isn\u2019t getting any younger.<\/p>\n

Kansas State\u2019s Sam Hecht was seen by some as the top center in this draft. He\u2019s smart and plays with a good anchor. HE also did not get called for a single penalty all season.<\/p>\n

Duke\u2019s Brian Parker II might be the fit, however. A Cincinnati native, Parker brings great strength and excellent feet.<\/p>\n

Potential Round 6 and 7 targets<\/p>\n

Wide Receivers: Cincinnati\u2019s massive and athletic Jeff Caldwell gets a lot of hype. Running a 4.31 40 and having a 42\u201d vertical at 6\u20195\u201d will do that. Caldwell needs a lot of work, but could be a deep threat, as they wanted in Jermaine Burton.<\/p>\n

Or the Bengals could look for a bigger-bodied slot who can help in the run game, like Baylor\u2019s Josh Cameron. Cameron tips the scales at 220 and squats over 500 pounds. He is a physical presence with the ball in his hand as well, picking up dirty yards after the catch. Cameron was also a skilled punt returner at Baylor.<\/p>\n

Tight Ends: Both Wyoming\u2019s John Michael Gyllenborg and BYU\u2019s Carsen Ryan are true Y tight ends. Each is a skilled blocker with potential upside if they develop as pass catchers.<\/p>\n

Offensive Line: Oregon\u2019s Isaiah World needs a lot of work, but at 6\u20195\u201d, 323, he had a lot of buzz going into the season. A late ACL injury has seriously impacted his draft prospects and could push him deep into Day 3. The Bengals have an excellent offensive line coach in Scott Peters, who could be the perfect fit to develop World behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

Peters also loves wrestlers, and Penn State\u2019s Nolan Rucci is said to be one of the best in the class. He needs a lot of work, but at 6\u20198\u201d, 314, he\u2019ll fit in nicely with the rest of the group.<\/p>\n

At center, there is everyone\u2019s favorite late mock draft selection, Pat Coogan, coming off his national championship run at Indiana. There is also all-name team captain Jager Barton, who brings guard versatility with him from Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Of course, the entire Brown family went to Dartmouth, so the pick very well could be Delby Lemieux. He played tackle in college, and with an Ivy League education, he should be able to handle the transition.<\/p>\n

Defensive Line: The Bengals have been pretty busy adding talent to their defensive front, but there are a couple of athletic defensive tackles whom they could look to add late in the draft. Penn State\u2019s Zane Durant is undersized at 6\u20191\u201d, 290, but he tested off the charts for explosiveness and speed. Louisville\u2019s Rene Konga also shined at the combine for his explosiveness and agility.<\/p>\n

Linebackers: Louisiana\u2019s Jaden Dugger is in the mold of Sonny Styles. A former safety at Georgetown of all places, Duggar moves to linebacker and impressed with his 35-inch arms and athleticism.<\/p>\n

Arkansas\u2019s Xavian Sorey Jr. is a bit inconsistent, but he is an excellent athlete who could add special teams value.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cincinnati Bengals are in a fortunate situation going into Day where their needs align perfectly with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[39983,1561,7,49,48],"class_list":["post-874261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-cincinnati-bengals-draft","tag-cincinnati-bengals-news","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116465333973986044","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874261","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=874261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=874261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=874261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=874261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}