CINCINNATI — The NFL Combine is almost here as Pro Football Focus writer Gordon McGuinness drops a new three-round 2026 NFL mock draft this week.
Cincinnati landed arguably the best offensive linemen in the draft by starting things with Miami (FL) offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa at Pick 10.
“The Bengals could look to address their defensive woes in Round 1, especially if positional value causes safety Caleb Downs to fall to this spot, but with the way this mock draft has played out, an offensive lineman makes a lot of sense,” McGuinness wrote. “Mauigoa spent the past three seasons at right tackle but could easily kick inside to guard and start immediately. He is coming off an 85.8 PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets in 2025.”
Mauigoa is ranked fourth overall and first among offensive tackles on the consensus big board from the Mock Draft Database.
He would instantly give Cincinnati a replacement for Orlando Brown Jr. at left tackle when the veteran’s contract ends after this coming season. Next, Cincinnati took Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman at Pick 41.
Thieneman is the third-best safety on the consensus big board and the 39th-best player overall this cycle.
The defensive names continued at Pick 72. Iowa State defensive tackle Domonique Orange went to the Bengals for their final pick in this exercise.
Orange is ranked 72nd on the consensus big board and seventh among defensive tackles. He is ranked one spot ahead of Cincinnati Bearcats star Dontay Corleone on the DT hierarchy. These would be pretty sound picks from a big board value perspective and give Cincinnati some potential impact rookies with each of their first three picks.
“We’re just diving into it,” Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said about the draft last month. “The juniors haven’t even all fully declared yet. The way college football is now, the universe is hard to pin down. You have your seniors, your juniors, you have sixth-year guys. We have a lot of 24- and 25-year-old guys.
“And then you have the guys who declare late. I think there’s still a game tonight and a game next weekend. And so those players have their own declaration dates where they’ll say they’re coming in. So until all the juniors really declare what they’re going to do, are they going to go back, are they going to transfer, are they going to be in the draft, it’s hard to really understand the full universe.”
Check out the full mock draft here.
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