With the 2026 NFL Draft almost here, let’s take a look at the top 10 defensive end prospects in this year’s class, all of whom should be on the Cincinnati Bengals’ radar.
1. Rueben Bain Jr. (6’2 263) Miami
Bain played some of his best football in the biggest games of the season during the college football playoffs this year. He ended the season with 15.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, and a 30.3% win rate on true pass sets. He has sub-31” arm length, but he is still a dominant player on the defensive line. He has knock-back power in his hands,
is stout as a run defender, has good closing speed, and gives relentless pursuit to the football. At just 21 years old, Bain already has a lot of big game experience. I wouldn’t hesitate to take him in the top 10 this year.
2. David Bailey (6’4 251) Texas Tech
Bailey was one of the most productive pass rushers in the country during the 2025 season. He recorded 19.5 tackles for loss, along with 14.5 sacks on the year. He had one of the highest pressure rates in the country, with a 38.6% win rate on true pass sets. He has an explosive first step, an advanced pass rush arsenal, and had a 9.67 relative athletic score at the combine.
Bailey will provide immediate pass rush juice to whatever team drafts him this year. I thought his run defense was drastically improved at Texas Tech, but something he still needs to continue getting more consistent at.
3. Keldric Faulk (6’6 276) Auburn
Faulk is one of the most polarizing prospects in this draft class. The deficiencies as a pass rusher are legitimate. He has an average burst off the snap, and will have to add more moves to his pass rush arsenal if he wants to play on obvious passing downs on the edge. The reason he is still so high for me is that he is a tremendous run defender. I can also envision a team kicking him inside and allowing him to be a DeForest Buckner-type player at the next level.
Faulk is just 20 years old, which means his best football is likely still to come. This isn’t a player that should go in the top 10, but he could be a second-half of the first round player.
4. TJ Parker (6’4 263) Clemson
Parker didn’t have the season that people were expecting, and Clemson as a team did not either. Parker went from 11 sacks and 6 forced fumbles in 2024, down to just 5 sacks and 0 forced fumbles during the 2025 season. He still generated pressure at a high rate, with a 27.6% win rate on true pass sets.
Parker has violent hands, an advanced pass rush plan, and had an impressive pre-draft process. His awareness against the run is still a work in progress, and he doesn’t show the best bend around the corner.
5. Akheem Mesidor (6’3 259) Miami
Mesidor was an elite pass rusher opposite of Rueben Bain for the Hurricanes. He ended the season with 67 pressures, 12.5 sacks, and a 36.6% win rate on true pass sets. Mesidor can move up and down the line, has good quickness off the snap, and is a determined pass rusher. The concerns with him as a prospect are that he is already 25 years old and has dealt with multiple injuries, including a foot issue that cost him the entire 2023 season.
Mesidor is a player that I would feel most comfortable taking in the second round, but it won’t be surprising to see a team take him before the end of the first round.
6. R Mason Thomas (6’2 241) Oklahoma
Mason Thomas is a dynamic pass rusher. He has good bend, converts speed-to-power, has excellent pursuit speed, and had a 35.1% win rate on true pass sets in 2025. For his career, he has 25.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, and 4 forced fumbles. Reasons he may not go in the first round center around his size, inconsistencies against the run, and recurring ankle injuries. If he is still on the board during the second round, I don’t think it will be for very long.
7. Cashius Howell (6’2 253) Texas A&M
Howell spent his first three seasons at Bowling Green. The last two years, he had a step up in competition by playing in the SEC at Texas A&M. He recorded 11.5 sacks during the 2025 season, with a pressure rate of 28.8% on true pass sets. Howell is comfortable dropping in coverage, possesses great flexibility around the edge, and has a deep array of pass rush moves that includes a pretty lethal spin move. He is another player with shorter arms, measuring in at 30 1/4” arm length. It shows up a bit more with him than it does with Bain as a run defender.
Howell can have difficulty shedding blocks, and had one of the lower stop rates among the edge class at just 3.1% as a run defender.
8. Malachi Lawrence (6’4 253) UCF
Lawrence has been a player on the rise throughout the 2025 season, and he continued that upward trajectory at the Shrine Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine. He has great explosiveness, length, hand usage, and experience. His 34.7% win rate on true pass sets is right up there with the top players in this draft class. He had a 9.90 relative athletic score, and that athleticism shows up throughout his tape. Lawrence will need to finish plays at a higher rate after having a 23.3% missed tackle rate during the 2025 season.
9. Gabe Jacas (6’3 260) Illinois
Jacas is a player with a great power profile at the defensive end position. He has the coveted wrestling background for a lineman, was on the Feldman Freak List, and recorded 11 sacks during the 2025 season. Jacas is a versatile scheme, has real pop in his hands, and had a 24.1% win rate on true pass sets this year. He could improve his pass rush plan, clean up missed tackles, and doesn’t have elite pursuit speed.
This is still a player that could be selected within the top 50 draft selections this year, and you will get a player with non-stop effort that can play on all three downs at the next level.
10. Derrick Moore (6’4 255) Michigan
Moore is a high-level pass rusher. He has 21 career sacks, including 10 of them in 2025. Moore is adept at converting speed-to-power, shows good bull-rush strength, and had a 36.0% win rate on true pass sets during the 2025 season. He hasn’t been a consistent run defender, and Michigan would keep him in a heavy rotation and off the field completely during a lot of obvious rushing situations.
Moore has the size to improve as a run defender, but his calling card as a draft prospect is the ability to put pressure on the quarterback.
Honorable Mentions: Zion Young, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Romello Height, Joshua Josephs, Jaishawn Barham, Keyron Crawford, Max Llewellyn, Mason Reiger, Caden Curry, LT Overton, Nadame Tucker, Anthony Lucas, Vincent Anthony Jr., Mikail Kamara, Logan Fano, Tyreak Sapp, Trey Moore, Cameron Robertson, Wesley Williams, Isaiah Smith, Keyshawn James-Newby, Ethan Burke, Patrick Payton, and Michael Heldman.
