Bengals Player Profile: Connor Lew is Cincinnati’s new long-term investment along the offensive line
Had Connor Lew been fully healthy entering the 2026 NFL Draft, he likely would’ve been a top-100 pick. The Cincinnati Bengals managed to trade down 18 spots in the fourth round and still snagged him.
We’re 43 days away from the Cincinnati Bengals’ preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. We’re profiling every player on the Bengals’ 90-man roster leading up to roster cutdown day. Check out previous player profiles here.
The next player on our countdown was taken in the heart of this past draft.
Connor Lew Player Profile
Age: 20
Year: Rookie
Position: Center
College: Auburn
Jersey Number: 65
Connor Lew was selected with the No. 128 overall in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Bengals. Lew spent three years (2023-25) at Auburn, and started 25 of the 31 games he played for the Tigers. He made six starts as a true freshman, earning Freshman All-American team honors from multiple outlets and SEC All-Freshman team honors as well. playing in 31 games with 25 starts at center. He started a full season at C in 2024, becoming instrumental for future NFL draft pick Jarquez Hunter to run for 1,201 rushing yards.
Lew started seven more games in 2025 before a torn ACL took him out of the final five games. The injury and recovery process also sidelined him for the pre-draft process, preventing him from performing any athleticism testing at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Contract details
Lew signed a four-year, $5,444,356 rookie contract with the Bengals. His base salary for 2026 is the minimum $885,000. He’s also getting $1,064,356 as a signing bonus. His cash figure for the year is $1,949,356, and his salary cap hit will be $1,151,089.
Roster outlook
Had Lew been fully healthy entering the draft, he likely would’ve been a top-100 pick. Cincinnati managed to trade down 18 spots in the fourth round and still snagged him.
He was not picked just to be cut.
Lew is making the team, and if healthy several weeks before Week 1, will be the backup to Ted Karras in the middle of the Bengals’ offensive line. He’s been crowned the future at the position with Karras entering the last year of his contract.
Lew could reasonably start training camp on an injury list if he’s not ready to practice just yet. The non-football injury list is typically where rookies coming back from injuries during their collegiate careers end up to start their NFL careers. Lew may receive that designation.
Regardless, he will be a part of the 53-man roster if he’s cleared to practice before it becomes initialized.
Roster odds: 100%