Bengals hosting visit for key weapon from Indiana’s National Championship team leading up to 2026 NFL Draft
A potential Day 3 NFL Draft target for Cincinnati.
The Cincinnati Bengals will be focused on filling out their defense early in the 2026 NFL Draft, but with five picks on Day 3 to work with, there will also be investments made on offense.
Running back is a position Cincinnati has exclusively addressed after the first three rounds of the draft since head coach Zac Taylor took over in 2019, and with Chase Brown and Samaje Perine entering contract years, it would not be a total surprise to see another ballcarrier taken by the Bengals in April.
One of the RBs in play is fresh off winning a National Championship and played the last two years just a couple hours west of Cincinnati.
Indiana RB Kaelon Black will have pre-draft visit with Bengals
While Fernando Mendoza has the hype of being the inevitable first-overall pick in the draft, the guy he handed the ball off to 186 times last season should also hear his name called before the draft concludes. Indiana RB Kaelon Black, a projected late Day 3 pick, will visit both the Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders per NFL Draft insider Ryan Fowler.
Black rushed for 1,040 yards last year for the Hoosiers, including 79 yards on 17 carries in the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Miami Hurricanes. The former James Madison transfer averaged 3.47 yards after contact per carry for the season, and averaged 3.76 in that game against a vaunted Miami defensive front.
There’s obvious power in Black’s game despite being just under 5-10 and 208 pounds. His low center of gravity allows him to churn out tough yardage. He didn’t catch the ball much for Indiana (nine receptions in two years), but he did snag 25 receptions during his last year at JMU.
What may intrigue the Bengals more than anything about Black are his chops in pass protection. He was tested 48 times last year and only allowed two pressures on Mendoza against a rough Big Ten schedule and CFP gauntlet.
Black will be one of at least two dozen prospects Cincinnati will host visits for in the coming weeks leading up to the draft. Check out all the reported visits here.
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