{"id":44115,"date":"2026-02-28T23:57:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T23:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115"},"modified":"2026-02-28T23:57:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T23:57:59","slug":"bengals-drawing-major-nfl-draft-buzz-for-superstar-defender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115","title":{"rendered":"Bengals Drawing Major NFL Draft Buzz for Superstar Defender"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><\/figure>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_4334,h_2437\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Fall_bengals%2F01kjk9zwxz8j0f130ejq.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\">The Cincinnati Bengals need to put together the perfect offseason this year if they want to put a contending team on the field next year. The offense has been one of the best units in the league when Joe Burrow is healthy, but the defense has struggled so much that it doesn&#8217;t matter.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\">With the 2026 NFL Draft coming up, there are a lot of prospects that could help the Bengals improve their defense. They hold the 10th overall selection. All of their picks are going to matter, but the Bengals can&#8217;t afford to miss with their top draft selection.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\">CBS Sports&#8217; Garrett Podell recently listed the Bengals as one of the best fits for Ohio State NFL Draft prospect Caleb Downs this offseason. Downs could be the perfect prospect to help a poor Bengals defense.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\">Caleb Downs Would Fit Perfectly as the Leader of the Bengals Defense<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_6971,h_3921\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/all_bengals\/01kjk7yf1fnmed7d78tj.jpg\" alt=\"Ohio State safety Caleb Down\" \/><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\">&#8220;The\u00a0Bengals\u00a0need help on defense on all levels after being the NFL&#8217;s third-worst scoring defense (28.9 points per game) in 2025,&#8221; Podell wrote. &#8220;That aid needs to come through the draft: they&#8217;ve drafted 62 defensive players since 2011, and none of them have earned a Pro Bowl selection while playing for Cincinnati. That&#8217;s the longest active drought in the NFL without picking a homegrown Pro Bowler on defense, per CBS Sports Research.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\">&#8220;Downs is Swiss Army knife of a defensive back who can line up in coverage at strong safety, nickel or even in sub packages as a linebacker. He is an outstanding blitzer thanks to his instincts, and he&#8217;s strong against the run with great tackling angles. He would be an immediate starter on the Bengals&#8217; defense.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-8\">Versatile Playmaker and Leader<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_417,w_4004,h_2252\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/all_bengals\/01kjka7517axvjc70hn0.jpg\" alt=\"Caleb Downs\" \/><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\">Downs is a generational prospect at safety. There&#8217;s nothing he can&#8217;t do on the field, though he plays the best in the box when he&#8217;s trusting his instincts. He&#8217;s also very good in coverage, which should make up for the lack of positional value for safeties, especially high in the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\">The Bengals need somebody to lead their defense. Downs is a natural born leader who led an Ohio State defense with stars like Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles. He could stay in the state of Ohio, come to Cincinnati and lead the next generation of the Bengals&#8217; defense.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\">For more on the Bengals,\u00a0subscribe to our YouTube Channel\u00a0and be sure to check us out on your favorite audio platforms, including\u00a0Apple Podcasts,\u00a0Spotify,\u00a0iHeartRadio\u00a0and\u00a0Amazon. Make sure you\u00a0bookmark BengalsTalk.com\u00a0for the latest Bengals news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more! We&#8217;re a one-stop shop for all things Cincinnati Bengals!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A perfect fit for the Bengals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cincinnati-bengals"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Bengals Drawing Major NFL Draft Buzz for Superstar Defender - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bengals Drawing Major NFL Draft Buzz for Superstar Defender - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A perfect fit for the Bengals.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-28T23:57:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cincin-48.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115\",\"name\":\"Bengals Drawing Major NFL Draft Buzz for Superstar Defender - Breaking News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cincin-48.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-28T23:57:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-28T23:57:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cincin-48.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cincin-48.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bengals Drawing Major NFL Draft Buzz for Superstar Defender\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"Breaking News\",\"description\":\"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\",\"name\":\"MrKen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrKen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bengals Drawing Major NFL Draft Buzz for Superstar Defender - Breaking News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bengals Drawing Major NFL Draft Buzz for Superstar Defender - Breaking News","og_description":"A perfect fit for the Bengals.","og_url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115","og_site_name":"Breaking News","article_published_time":"2026-02-28T23:57:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cincin-48.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MrKen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrKen","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115","name":"Bengals Drawing Major NFL Draft Buzz for Superstar Defender - Breaking News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cincin-48.png","datePublished":"2026-02-28T23:57:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-28T23:57:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cincin-48.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cincin-48.png","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=44115#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bengals Drawing Major NFL Draft Buzz for Superstar Defender"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/","name":"Breaking News","description":"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15","name":"MrKen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrKen"},"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44115"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44117,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44115\/revisions\/44117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}