5 early names to watch at pick No. 10 for Bengals

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It’s officially the offseason for the Cincinnati Bengals after a very disappointing 6-11 season filled with injuries and poor play, resulting in a third consecutive season without a playoff appearance following two straight AFC Championship Game appearances and a trip to Super Bowl LVI.

The Bengals will enter the offseason equipped with a top-ten pick in April’s draft in the hopes of starting to right the ship. Who could that player be? Here are five early names to watch for with the 10th overall pick for the Bengals.

Caleb Downs, safety, Ohio State

The Bengals have been looking for a safety ever since they let Jessie Bates walk in free agency and join the Atlanta Falcons. They tried with Geno Stone this season, and the results were not bad, but he is free agent and the Bengals will need to find another replacement.

Enter Caleb Downs, arguably the best pure athlete in this draft class. Safety isn’t typically a position that gets drafted high, but Downs’ athletic ability and instincts are incredible and he is one of those players that will instantly improve a team’s defense. Downs could very well be at the top of Cincinnati’s board come April.

Peter Woods, DL, Clemson

Another position the Bengals have been constantly looking for weapons at is interior defensive tackle. Other than BJ Hill, the Bengals weren’t able to get consistent pass rush from the position this season, though McKinnley Jackson showed some flashes in only 67 snaps.

They could get some juice from Clemson’s Peter Woods, who totaled five sacks and 12 tackles for a loss over the last two seasons.

Then there’s this stat, via SB Nation’s Cincy Jungle:

(Woods) had a 16.8% pass rush win rate on true pass sets during the 2025 season. In comparison, BJ Hill has a 5.1% win rate on true pass sets this season. Kris Jenkins has a 6.6% win rate, TJ Slaton is at 7.4%, and McKinnley Jackson is at 11.1%, in a limited sample size.

The Bengals finished tied for 22nd in the league with 35 sacks. Only Myles Murphy (5.5) and Joseph Ossai (5) had at least five sacks for the Bengals this season.

Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU

DJ Turner, the second-round pick in 2023, had himself a nice season and gave the Bengals a bit of a bright spot at the cornerback position this season. They’re still in search for a stud at the position and it could come from Joe Burrow’s alma mater.

Delane flourished in his one season at LSU after transferring from Virginia Tech. He had 11 passes defended and two interceptions and was viewed as one of the best shutdown cornerbacks in the nation. He was voted as a unanimous All-American. It’s been a while since the Bengals have had a true shutdown cornerback. Delane will be strongly considered in the first round, especially with the position group likely losing Cam Taylor-Britt to free agency.

Keldric Faulk, Edge, Auburn

As mentioned earlier, sacks were once again not the Bengals' strong suit in 2025. Trey Hendrickson helped boost the area in 2024 but injuries limited him to seven games in 2025. Rookie Shemar Stewart showed plenty of potential, but even he was limited by injuries this season. Hendrickson and Joseph Ossai are both free agents this offseason, so the Bengals will once again have to stock the cupboard on the edge.

In Kendric Faulk, the Bengals would get a very young but very explosive and toolsy pass-rusher. He doesn't turn 21 until Week 1 of the 2026 season but he is a player that can step right in and be an instant impact player. He may have only had two sacks in 2025 but he had seven sacks in 2024 as a 19-year-old. A pass-rush pairing of Stewart and Faulk would be a really tall task for opposing offensive lines for years to come.

David Bailey, Edge, Texas Tech

There will be plenty of edge rushers available, particularly at No. 10 for the Bengals. Another one on that list is David Bailey, who helped turn Texas Tech's defense into a force, en route to a Big 12 championship and a spot in the College Football Playoffs.

Bailey exploded for 15 sacks with the Red Raiders after totaling 15 in three seasons at Stanford. That's 30 sacks in four seasons. He led the nation in sacks in 2025. He needs to develop his run defense, but he already possesses plenty of potential rushing the passer at the next level.

This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: 5 early names to watch at pick No. 10 for Bengals

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