Cincinnati Bengals - March 5, 2026

Media Mock Draft 1.0

Plus: Dalton Risner Deal Ignites Bengals Offseason ...

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2026 MEDIA MOCK DRAFT 1.0

With the NFL scouting combine safely tucked into last week, we offer the first Bengals.com Media Mock Draft of 2026.

Consisting of our board of beat scribes and one draft expert, CBS Sports' Pete Prisco, we get you to No. 10 and head for home like the Ol' Lefthander.

If you don't like it, wait two weeks. There'll be another one about 10 days into free agency.

DALTON RISNER DEAL IGNITES BENGALS OFFSEASON

When the Bengals didn't wait for free agency to make their first big move of the offseason on Monday, it meant Dalton Risner won't have to spend an offseason waiting to find out he's a big part of his team's plans at right guard.

"It's such a relief," said Risner, who popped back into Paycor Stadium Monday morning with wife Whitney to re-up for another year. "And it's a relief because I'm coming back to somewhere I love. "With coaches and players that I love and respect, a staff that I respect, the team I want to play for, a team that respects me and values me and believes in me, and that's all you can ask for."

2026 NFL SALARY CAP OFFICIALLY SET AHEAD OF FREE AGENCY

The 2026 NFL Salary Cap will be at $301.2 million, the league informed teams Friday. It is the first time the salary cap has been over $300 million, jumping $22 million from last season.

In total, the salary cap has increased 40% in the past five years after it dropped entering 2021 following the COVID-19-riddled 2020 season. Since then, it has increased by an average of $24 million per year.

Prior to the re-signing of G Dalton Risner Monday, Cincinnati sat at $50.4 million in available cap space, the seventh-highest cap figure in the NFL entering free agency, per OverTheCap.

📽️DALTON RISNER: "THIS IS WHERE I NEED TO BE"

BENGALS BOOTH PODCAST

Dan Hoard visits with Dalton Risner after the offensive lineman agreed to a new contract to remain in Cincinnati. Plus, NFL Network analytics expert Cynthia Frelund discusses Cincinnati's approach to the draft and free agency in 2026.

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