The Cincinnati Bengals ' 2023 NFL Draft class looks to have a hit with the first-round pick, but two players drafted after Myles Murphy have been better for the Bengals for longer.
The 2026 NFL Draft is just three days away. Three years ago, the Cincinnati Bengals were about to put together one of their best draft classes in recent memory.
It didn't look that way immediately. There wasn't much instant impact to be found, but after three years, most of the eight-player class has found a significant role, and a few figure to be central pieces in the long run. Their developments have become so crucial for the hope Cincinnati has entering an all-important 2026 season.
As a way to countdown to the 2026 draft, we're going to go through the last 10 Bengals draft classes and identify the best pick Cincinnati made that year. A subjective combination of tenure, ability, impact, and value will be taken into account to pinpoint the single best selection from the last 10 drafts.
The class of 2023 features a projected five starters for Week 1 of the 2026 season:
Round 1, No. 28: Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson
Round 2, No. 60: DJ Turner II, CB, Michigan
Round 3, No. 95: Jordan Battle , S, Alabama
Round 4, No. 131: Charlie Jones , WR, Purdue
Round 5, No. 163: Chase Brown , RB, Illinois
Round 6, No. 206: Andrei Iosivas , WR, Princeton
Round 6, No. 217: Brad Robbins , P, Michigan
Round 7, No. 246: DJ Ivey, CB, Miami
The Bengals drafted Turner to develop behind starters Chidobe Awuzie and Cam Taylor-Britt , but Awuzie was still recovering from his torn ACL the year prior and Turner's services were needed right out the gate. He started 12 games as a rookie and played quite well in the first half of the year before hitting a wall towards the end. He competed for a starting gig in 2024 but once was limited to the first off the bench. Taylor-Britt being benched brought him on the field first, and Dax Hill's ACL injury kept him there.
Turner was truly finding his stride before his own season-ending injury took him out of the final six games of his second season. Injuries have been a common theme for Cincinnati cornerbacks in recent memory. Turner's specifically cooled the jets on the momentum he was building going into 2025.
Hill and Taylor-Britt started 2025, again, leaving Turner on the sidelines to start the season once more. His game-winning interception against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 was the moment everything changed for the better.
Turner didn't leave the field the rest of the year, and despite the Bengals' horrid defense, he produced a Pro Bowl-caliber year. He was the NFL-leader in passes defensed for most of the season and was blanketing receivers on a weekly basis. A six-win season kept him off ballots, but the 25-year old had officially arrived as a top-notch defensive back.
Cincinnati will look to extend Turner's contract this offseason and pay him as its No. 1 cornerback. It's been a meteoric rise for a second-rounder who couldn't win a starting gig out the gate for three years, but the signs have shown Turner's ability since Day 1. He's rightfully the top of this class.
Brown has gone from Joe Mixon 's backup, to Zach Moss' complement, to the Bengals' lead tailback in a matter of three years. Cincinnati wanted its fifth-rounder from 2023 to have a role in the run game starting out, but his evolution to becoming a three-down back has made things much easier in constructing the running backs room.
The middle of 2024 was when Brown really began turning heads. He rushed for 120 yards in his third-ever start, which came right after Moss was placed on injured reserve and would miss the rest of the year. He ripped off five consecutive contests with at least 100 yards from scrimmage. Before anyone had noticed, he compiled 229 attempts on the season and averaged an impressive 4.3 yards per carry to go with 360 receiving yards. He was ready for a full-time role.
Brown had a miserable start to 2025 as the Bengals' offensive line struggled and quarterback issues made the offense weak as a whole. Once Joe Flacco settled in and Joe Burrow eventually returned, Brown regained his efficiency and then some. He rushed for 859 yards for an average of 5.1 yards per carry in the final 12 games of the year.
There's going to be a case for, and against, extending Brown's contract this offseason, but he's been a definitive hit for a fifth-round pick. Murphy can make a compelling argument for this spot if he continues his progression from late last year, but for now, it's Brown.
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