There are a few names Cincinnati Bengals fans should get used to hearing often before the 2026 NFL draft.
Texas Tech defensive lineman David Bailey is certainly one of them.
Bailey feels like a lock for the top 10 and has a lot of what the Bengals need on the front seven. Hence, PFF’s Max Chadwick tabbing him as the «perfect draft pick” for the Bengals:
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“The Bengals selected one of the best run-defending edge rushers in the first round of last year’s draft in Shemar Stewart and could now target the best pass rusher in this year’s class, Bailey. He led all FBS defenders in PFF overall grade (93.1), PFF pass-rush grade (93.9), pressures (81) and sacks (15).”
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The Bengals head into the offseason with Trey Hendrickson and Joseph Ossai slated to be free agents. It’s easy to see both leaving for a variety of reasons.
That leaves first-round products Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart as the building blocks on the edge. Adding Bailey to that would give them all some positional flexibility, depending on the scenario and packages.
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This would make the Bengals’ front seven pretty young (and very expensive down the road if it works out). But they need blue-chip players up front to make things easier on the secondary, so Bailey is certainly close to “perfect” when combining need and value.
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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals get an early ‘perfect’ 2026 NFL draft scenario
