The 2026 NFL Draft is just nine days away. Nine years ago, the Cincinnati Bengals were not set up offensively like they are today.

When Joe Burrow was still at Ohio State. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins were still in high school. Cincinnati was in desperate need of playmakers to complement an aging A.J. Green to get back to the postseason. Pass rushers were also needed at the time, so not that much has changed.

As a way to countdown to the 2026 draft, we’re going to go through the last 10 Bengals draft classes and identify the best pick Cincinnati made that year. A subjective combination of tenure, ability, impact, and value will be taken into account to pinpoint the single best selection from the last 10 drafts.

We started with the 2016 draft class yesterday. Today we have the 11-selection class of 2017.

• Round 1, No. 9: John Ross, WR, Washington
• Round 2, No. 48: Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma
• Round 3, No. 73: Jordan Willis, DE, Kansas State
• Round 4, No. 116: Carl Lawson, DE, Auburn
• Round 4, No. 128: Josh Malone, WR, Tennessee
• Round 4, No. 138: Ryan Glasgow, DT, Michigan
• Round 5, No. 153: Jake Elliott, K, Memphis
• Round 5, No. 176: JJ Dielman, C, Utah
• Round 6, No. 193: Jordan Evans, LB, Oklahoma
• Round 6, No. 2017: Brandon Wilson, S, Houston
• Round 7, No. 245: Mason Schreck, TE, Buffalo

Best Pick: Joe Mixon

This was the story of the Bengals’ draft. Plenty of teams had Mixon off their boards entirely because he was caught striking a woman while he was in college. He wasn’t even invited to the NFL Scouting Combine that year. Cincinnati spent ample time with the Oklahoma running back leading up to the draft and felt comfortable taking him after moving back seven picks in the second round.

Mixon spent his rookie season in a three-back rotation along with incumbents Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard, but took over as the lead back in 2018. He rushed for 1,168 yards and eight touchdowns on 237 carries as a full-time starter despite missing two games. He followed that with another 1,137 yards during the 2019 season.

The Bengals only won six games in those two years combined, but they felt more than comfortable with Mixon leading the ground attack. Cincinnati extended his contract for four years, giving him $48 million in new money during the 2020 offseason. He would only play in six games that year due to injury, but the best was yet to come.

Mixon resurged in 2021 with Joe Burrow coming to life with his trio of receivers in place. He rushed for a career-high 1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns on his way to his first and only Pro Bowl nod at 25 years of age.

It was never quite the same after that for Cincinnati’s rushing attack with Mixon leading the charge. He amassed just 814 yards in 2022 and ran into off-field trouble following the season. He ended up taking a pay cut before the 2023 season, rushing for 1,034 yards in what ended up his final year with the Bengals.

Cincinnati traded Mixon for a seventh-round pick in 2024, but the return on investment was more than some expected when he was drafted. The Bengals took a chance on a kid very few teams even considered drafting, and he gave them seven years of production. Not bad at all for a second-round pick.

Honorable Mention: Carl Lawson

There are only two other players from that class still playing in the league, and Lawson is one of them. He immediately provided a boost in the pass rush as a rookie, posting 8.5 sacks as the third defensive end in Cincy’s rotation behind starters Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson.

Injuries took Lawson out for good chunks of both 2018 and 2019, but he still racked up 20 sacks and 183 pressures during his four years as a Bengal. He left in free agency to sign a three-year, $45 million contract with the New York Jets, which prompted the Bengals to replace him with Trey Hendrickson.

Cincinnati obviously doesn’t regret the path it took. Lawson missed all of 2021 with injury, but came back with seven sacks in 2022. He’s been on three different teams in the same amount of years recently, but has still churned out a good career for a fourth-rounder.

Elliott deserves a shout as he’s still kicking with the Philadelphia Eagles. Because the Bengals cut him before his rookie season even began, Lawson gets the edge as an actual contributor for the team.

Find the next Mixon and Lawson with the A to Z Sports NFL Mock Draft Simulator!