{"id":876042,"date":"2026-04-27T12:27:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T12:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/876042\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T12:27:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T12:27:24","slug":"cincinnati-bengals-draft-class-top-3-rookies-who-will-have-the-biggest-impact-on-the-2026-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/876042\/","title":{"rendered":"Cincinnati Bengals Draft Class: Top 3 rookies who will have the biggest impact on the 2026 season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cincinnati Bengals\u2019 roster is in good shape, but there will still be opportunities for some of the 2026 draftees to make an impact this season. Let\u2019s rank the players who are most likely to see the field.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Cincinnati
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCincinnati Bengals third round pick Tacario Davis speaks with media during the 2026 NFL Draft, Saturday, April 25, 2026, at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Frank Bowen IV\/The Enquirer \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Drafting primarily for instant impact is so rarely a good strategy. It\u2019s how some of the Cincinnati Bengals\u2019 worst draft picks were made. <\/p>\n

Cincinnati did its best to avoided that during the 2026 NFL Draft<\/a>. Positions that needed depth received it, and the surplus of value drafted was notable on both days the Bengals made picks.<\/p>\n

That they still managed to select players who can make a notable impact this year is just the cherry on top. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a given all seven picks will make the roster, and it\u2019s even more unlikely all of them will play significant snaps this coming season. There are three players who will be positioned to see the field early, and the nature of the game is destined to force them into action.<\/p>\n

In ranking those players, it starts at the top of the class.<\/p>\n

1. EDGE Cashius Howell<\/p>\n

The finishing piece of the EDGE group wasn\u2019t viewed as a larger priority compared to linebacker or nickelback by fans and analysts, but Cashius Howell<\/a> is going to make his impact felt this year.<\/p>\n

Howell is firmly in Cincinnati\u2019s plan to deploy waves of pass rushers this season and beyond. He is not going to start, but as one of the top four EDGEs with an already respectable baseline for pass rushing proficiency, he\u2019ll have no trouble seeing the field. <\/p>\n

Pass rushers can make the biggest impact as individuals on defense. Howell will play at least a couple hundred snaps, giving him a great chance to make his presence known.<\/p>\n

2. CB Tacario Davis<\/p>\n

So far, so chalk. Howell was the the Bengals\u2019 first pick in the draft, and Tacario \u201cBobo\u201d Davis was the second. Davis\u2019 position, and the depth it needed, is partly why he was drafted right behind Howell. <\/p>\n

Cincinnati has consistently relied on its first cornerback off the bench in recent years. Starters DJ Turner II and Dax Hill have each incurred season-ending injuries since 2024. The top four players in the room always end up playing hundreds of snaps. <\/p>\n

Davis will be seeing the field plenty as a rookie, and his readiness when called upon may determine how strong the defense is when he\u2019s out there. <\/p>\n

3. OL Brian Parker II <\/p>\n

The odds of the Bengals\u2019 offensive line being as healthy this year as it was in 2025 are low. It\u2019s why finding quality depth all over the line was paramount in the draft.<\/p>\n

Parker may\u2019ve been the second of two o-linemen selected by Cincy, but unlike Connor Lew, he boasts total positional versatility and does not need to still fully recover from a torn ACL. <\/p>\n

It would not be surprising to see Parker log a few starts ala Jalen Rivers last year at either guard spot, or even fill in at tackle in emergency situations. No Bengals fan needs a lesson in the importance of quality blocking. Parker bringing that to the table when he\u2019s on the field will be crucial. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Georgia\t\t<\/p>\n

Cincinnati Bengals News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBengals Final Draft Grades: Cincinnati makes the most of the seven picks following the groundbreaking Dexter Lawrence trade\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Cincinnati Bengals ended up with seven picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, and came away with tremendous value on both days they made their selections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cincinnati Bengals\u2019 roster is in good shape, but there will still be opportunities for some of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":876043,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2053],"tags":[4955,228,75520,21912,227,256,118552,2296,7,6,3620],"class_list":["post-876042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cincinnati-bengals","tag-2026-nfl-draft","tag-bengals","tag-brian-parker-ii","tag-cashius-howell","tag-cincinnati","tag-cincinnati-bengals","tag-cincinnati-bengals-draft-class","tag-cincinnatibengals","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-tacario-davis"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116476671335785792","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876042","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=876042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/876043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=876042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=876042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=876042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}