Local NFL Draft prospect confirms upcoming visit with Cincinnati Bengals, and he fits what they’re looking for
Cincinnati Bearcats linebacker Jake Golday would make a ton of sense for the Cincinnati Bengals to draft shortly after the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday will likely hear his name called sometime within the first 100 picks of the 2026 NFL Draft, and the professional ball club.
Golday confirmed to Kay Adams on Up & Adams he’s scheduled to visit with the Cincinnati Bengals leading up to the draft.
Golday being a UC Bearcat means his visit can qualify as a local visit and not count as a 30 visit for the team, as the Bengals only have, fittingly, 30 of those to go through before April’s draft.
Golday came to Clifton in 2024 after three seasons at Central Arkansas. The Memphis, TN native was a team captain for Arlington High School as well. He ended up with 64 solo tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, and five passes defensed in 24 games for the Bearcats.
The production and background makes Golday a Day 2 prospect, but what makes him intriguing for the Bengals is the specific experience he accrued for Cincinnati.
Jake Golday fits the profile of linebacker the Bengals are targeting
Golday was moved all over the place during his five years in college. Pro Football Focus has him with 965 snaps as a traditional stack linebacker, 585 snaps on the line of scrimmage either outside or over the offensive tackle, and 522 snaps in the slot.
The versatility to move on and off the ball is what the Bengals are looking for in a new LB to join forces with second-year starters Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. Defensive coordinator Al Golden specifically talked about the need to find another backer to keep Knight from playing on the line so much when the defense goes into its odd fronts with stand-up outside linebackers.
“We’ve got to get deeper. Obviously, having somebody with a combo presence, I would prefer not to ask Demetrius [Knight] to play on the line of scrimmage as much as we did,” Golden said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “There will be times when he does do that, but I would prefer to add another piece, and have that veteran wisdom and all those things. And again, we’re looking for for formidable position groups, which combined will make us better as a unit. We’re trying to improve a lot of different positions right now. That’s one of them.”
It may be risky to ask a rookie to handle that role again, but Knight only had 138 d-line snaps in six years at the collegiate level. Golday is significantly more familiar with the role, and he played it well for the Bearcats.
As far as Day 2 targets go, Golday is one to put in the back of your mind for the Bengals.
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