41. Cincinnati Bengals - Lee Hunter, DT, Texas Tech
Speaking of the defensive line, the Bengals take Lee Hunter from Texas Tech. The Bengals added Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe to the defensive line this offseason in free agency, but the hole left by Trey Hendrickson could require yet another addition.
Hunter is going to be a space-eater and should be rather competent against the run. This would then allow the secondary to thrive and perhaps finally get this defense on the right track after a disastrous 2025.
42. New Orleans Saints - D’Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana
D’Angelo Ponds might be undersized, but he can play. The Saints lost Alontae Taylor in free agency and could seek to take a cornerback high up in the NFL Draft. Ponds is going to thrive as a slot cornerback, but with defenses playing a lot of five-defensive-back looks, the slot cornerback position is becoming more and more important in today’s NFL.
43. Miami Dolphins - Cashius Howell, EDGE, Texas A&M
The Dolphins take Cashius Howell from Texas A&M at pick 43 in this mock draft and look to restock the defensive line. At one point, the Dolphins had both Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, so this unit was in a great spot.
However, the massive rebuild is on, so new General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has to keep plucking away here. Miami has seven picks in the first 100 selections this year.
44. New York Jets - Chris Johnson, CB, San Diego State
The Jets traded Sauce Gardner to the Colts during the 2025 season and have a need on the backend of the defense at this point. New York did address the secondary in free agency, but they double-down on that investment here and take Chris Johnson from San Diego State.
This front office has made a significant amount of changes on the defensive side of the ball.