The Bengals are still living with the reality that drafting has not exactly been their calling card, even if the latest rookie class has looked encouraging in preseason Week 1. It is far too early to make a final judgment there, and last year’s linebacker picks, Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter, were awful in 2025. Shemar Stewart fits the same uneasy pattern as another first-round swing gone wrong: he had a bad rookie season and is now injured in his second Bengals training camp.
That is why it makes sense to start peeking ahead, especially with Cincinnati projected to be picking late in the 2027 draft order if this team performs the way it should. With Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List out, there are a few future targets worth filing away now.
Jayden Scott is the kind of running back who can make you dream about getting in before the rest of the league catches on. The NC State sophomore has only 109 carries and 15 catches so far, but the physical profile jumps off the page. Chase Brown still needs a second contract, so insurance has to stay on the Bengals’ radar, and Scott looks like a possible RB2 upgrade as well.
Feldman’s description says Scott is 5-10, 223 pounds and that he “ran all over Georgia Tech, going for 196 yards, and later ran for 94 in the bowl romp over Memphis. It feels like this guy is just getting warmed up with top rusher Hollywood Smothers off to Texas.
Scott has packed on 10 more pounds since last year but is still running a 4.35 40 with a 1.42 10-yard split and has upped his vertical jump to 38 1/2 inches. He cleaned 405 pounds this offseason, a huge amount for a running back.
In addition, he back-squatted 575 pounds and did 20 reps at 225 pounds on the bench.”
That is a rare blend of size, burst and power. Brown’s own acceleration is elite, but Scott’s 1.42-second 10-yard split stands out in a way that makes you stop and stare.
It is hard to picture a back with that little game tape climbing all the way into the first round in 2027, which is exactly why he is the sort of player Cincinnati could have a real shot at. That matters with Samaje Perine set to hit free agency and 2025 sixth-round pick Tahj Brooks having shown very little so far.
If the Bengals want to inject speed into the linebacker room, Oregon’s Devon Jackson would be the loudest answer on the board. The current state of that group is still shaky enough that even with Knight and Carter looking better early in camp, the room needs help. May waiver-wire pickup Swayze Bozeman is being asked to become a solid LB3, and that tells you enough.
Jackson brings a very different kind of juice. Feldman called him “the fastest linebacker in college football,” and the profile backs it up.
He made 41 tackles for Oregon in 2025 after posting 47 tackles and three TFLs in 2024. He won Nebraska state titles in the 100 and 200 meters with times of 10.54 and 21.63, and this offseason he reportedly hit 24 mph on the GPS, which The Athletic says is the fastest time it has heard about from a college player.
He also vertical-jumped 40 inches and back-squatted 675 pounds.
The production is real, too. Over 956 defensive snaps at Oregon, PFF says Jackson has missed only eight tackles.
In coverage, he has allowed 7.7 yards per catch and no touchdowns on 47 targets. If he keeps developing, that kind of athletic profile could leave Knight and Carter looking ordinary by comparison.
Then there is Alabama’s Bray Hubbard, a prospect who could give Cincinnati a little bit of Brian Branch energy with a bigger frame and a different role. The Bengals have leaned on Mike Hilton in the slot for a long time, and while Jalen Davis is in place as a short-term answer, the spot still looks ripe for an upgrade. Hubbard could also fit at either safety spot.
He is a playmaker with seven interceptions over the last two seasons, and he offers flexibility that would make him useful whether Jordan Battle remains in the fold or not. Battle, a Tuscaloosa native, is in the final year of his contract and profiles more as a deep safety coverage specialist than Bryan Cook. Hubbard could work as a No. 3 safety and also push Davis for the starting nickel job.
His Freaks List entry is loaded: “Last year, Hubbard earned second-team All-America honors from the AFCA as part of a superb secondary after he made four interceptions, 79 tackles, 4.5 TFLs and two sacks, plus a team-high six pass breakups and three forced fumbles. At 6-2, 218, Hubbard’s athleticism is impressive.
He bench-pressed 430 pounds, squatted 620 and power-cleaned 365. He also vertical-jumped 39 inches, broad-jumped 10-6 and clocked 21.8 mph on the GPS.”
Right now, PFF has Hubbard at No. 47 on its big board. Scott and Jackson are not in the top 75. If that list holds anywhere close to where it is now, Hubbard looks like the most realistic of the three names to monitor as the Bengals’ 2027 draft picture comes into focus.
In Other News...
ESPN Just Reignited The Bengals Debate Around Joe Burrow
ESPNs latest NFL Future Power Rankings did not do the Bengals many favors, slotting Cincinnati 17th overall in a projection that stretches from 2027 through 2029. The forecast still gives Joe Burrow elite status, placing him among the leagues top-five quarterbacks, but it also drags the attention back to the bigger organizational question that has hovered around this team: whether the roster and infrastructure around him are built to keep pace over the long haul.
What makes the ranking sting a bit more is the way ESPN weighed the people steering the operation, with low marks for both the coaching staff and front office. Even with some recent defensive additions, the concern in the projection is less about Burrows ability than the teams ability to maximize him, especially with a large upcoming free-agent class set to test the Bengals depth and direction in the years ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Week 1 Opponent Suddenly Has A Big WR Concern
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Bowles stopped short of saying whether the injury will affect Egbukas availability for the Sept. 13 game in Cincinnati, which leaves Tampa Bay with a situation worth monitoring as the opener approaches. For the Bengals, it is the kind of pre-Week 1 development that can matter if the Buccaneers passing game is already forced to adjust before the season even starts. [Read more 🡒]
Dalton Risner Sends Bengals Fans A Reality Check On Playoff Hopes
Dalton Risner sounds like he understands exactly where the Bengals are trying to go, and why August is no time to get ahead of themselves. The veteran guard said he is excited about the possibility of helping Cincinnati get back to the playoffs, but he kept the focus where the team wants it in training camp, stressing the need to take things one day at a time and do the work required to build something that lasts.
For a Bengals team that has made offseason additions and is trying to navigate a rugged AFC North, that kind of message fits the moment. The division is still loaded with challenges, and with coaching changes swirling around rival clubs, Cincinnati can like its direction without pretending anything is guaranteed. Risners perspective is a reminder that playoff hopes are built long before the standings start to matter, and the real test is whether the Bengals can turn that quiet confidence into results once the games count. [Read more 🡒]