The Cincinnati Bengals have done enough roster work that Joe Burrow is already talking about the Super Bowl and how good this team is. That’s not a stretch, and it also doesn’t change the hard truth for undrafted rookies: most of them don’t survive final cuts.
Even so, Cincinnati could carry one of these newcomers onto the 53-man roster if camp breaks right. The practice squad is probably the more realistic landing spot for a few of them, but there’s at least a path for one to sneak through. Here are the four UDFA names with the best chance.
Jack Dingle sits at the top of the list, and the case is simple: linebacker feels like the better opening than safety, and Cincinnati’s current options don’t inspire much confidence. Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. are not viewed as the answers at starting linebacker, and Oren Burks is not expected to return to the Super Bowl-winning version he showed with the Eagles. If Burks had shown even a hint of that, he’d already be ahead of Carter.
Dingle, meanwhile, stood out at the University of Cincinnati. His raw athleticism is better than Knight and Carter, and that alone makes him worth keeping around.
At minimum, he looks like the kind of player who can help on kick coverage. There’s also a real case for using him as an occasional subpackage blitzer.
More than anything, he’s the kind of athlete who should get a shot to compete with Carter for the starting job.
Isaiah Nwokobia comes next because the Bengals’ safety depth is still unsettled behind Bryan Cook, Jordan Battle, and Kyle Dugger. Cook is the clear leader of the group, Battle is the presumed starter, and Dugger looks like a roster lock. PJ Jules has earned his keep with special teams work, but the door is open if Nwokobia turns heads in camp.
Beyond that, the competition gets thin. Daijahn Anthony was a seventh-round pick two years ago, while Russ Yeast is already on his fifth NFL team since entering the league with the Rams in 2022.
Nwokobia has the kind of resume that can make noise: nine interceptions over the past three seasons, only two career college penalties, and real versatility. At SMU, he logged 1,081 snaps at deep safety, 838 in the box, and 513 in the slot.
Liam Brown has a real chance too, especially if the Bengals decide they want another interior line option. Jalen Rivers, a second-year fifth-round pick, struggled badly when Cincinnati put him at guard last season, and that could open the door for Brown. The former Montana Grizzlies standout played mostly left guard in college and put up a 79.9 PFF pass blocking grade in 2025, which is exactly the sort of depth production a team can use behind Dylan Fairchild.
The complication is that Cincinnati already drafted Brian Parker II out of Duke and Connor Lew on the interior, which makes the competition tighter. Parker was a college tackle who spent most of his time on the right side, and he could eventually become the starting right guard after Dalton Risner. If the Bengals feel the battle is close, the draft investment in Rivers could still tilt the decision his way.
Jamal Haynes rounds out the group, and he’s the most electric of the bunch even if the odds are long. He didn’t get a combine invite, so he made his case at his pro day, where his acceleration stood out. His 10- and 20-yard splits were elite, even if the overall 40 time was only solid.
Haynes is a little under 5-foot-7 and weighs 195 pounds, so he’s not built like a typical every-down back. He profiles more as a change-of-pace receiver out of the backfield, and he caught 61 passes over the last two seasons. The speed on the long end may not be there, and his pass protection remains a concern, but he brings a burst the Bengals’ backfield doesn’t really get from Samaje Perine or Tahj Brooks.
That combination makes him interesting. It also makes him a long shot. But among the Bengals’ undrafted rookies, these are the four with the clearest path to breaking through.
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