Bengals subtly gain additional intel on top draft prospects while meeting with potential targets themselves
The Cincinnati Bengals had Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. and Ohio State LB Sonny Styles in for 30 visits this week, and they also gave themselves chances to learn more about them through notable teammates
Several notable names in the 2026 NFL Draft stopped by for visits with the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday.
Miami defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. and Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles each stopped by Paycor Stadium as first-round targets for the Bengals. They were also joined by Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez, OSU CB Lorenzo Styles Jr., and Miami DE Akheem Mesidor.
Bain and the younger Styles stand out as two players who could be the No. 10 pick in the draft. Styles isn’t likely to last that long, but the Bengals have clear interest in the top off-ball backer in this year’s class. Bain is very much in play as his expected draft range is right around where Cincinnati is picking.
Intel is everything this time of year, and considering the other players the Bengals met with this week, it’s easier to think their work on Bain and Styles didn’t just stop at their meetings.
Bengals learn more about top targets thanks to teammates
Meeting with players gives off an undeniable message that the team is interested in them. But meetings don’t have to just be about the player himself.
Asking players about players they’ve gone up against, and teammates they’ve had are also known conversations had between clubs and prospects.
And when teammates are also brothers, that’s just another layer.
Cincinnati meeting with both Styles brothers is very apparent of this strategy. Sonny is high on pretty much every team’s board, and that figures to be the case for a team that hasn’t added a LB to its weak group already in the building. There were definitely opportunities to learn about him while meeting with his brother Lorenzo, who’s a possible Day 3 pick himself.
Bain and Messidor actually have a chance of being drafted in the same round. The former is a possible top-10 pick, and the latter is projected to go off the board sometime before the first-round concludes. It’s unlikely for the Bengals used their first-rounder on Messidor, and it’s just as unlikely for him to fall to their second-round pick at No. 41 overall.
Messidor could be a potential trade-back target of Cincy’s. At any rate, he’s played with Bain for the past three years and shared plenty of success with him last year when the Hurricanes made it to the College Football Playoff National Championship. Bain had three pressures and a sack against Indiana, while Messidor had four pressures and took down Fernando Mendoza twice.
Any of the four (and Rodriguez) could be Bengals in two weeks’ time. If the Bengals really want Bain or Styles with their first pick, then they were able to learn much about both of them this week.
Start a Bengals mock draft featuring Bain, Styles, or anyone from the 2026 class with the A to Z Sports NFL Mock Draft Simulator!
