The Cincinnati Bengals are heading into the 2026 NFL season as a Super Bowl contender. After adding Dexter Lawrence in a trade this offseason, it’s clear the Bengals are serious contenders that could continue to make splash moves from now until the trade deadline.
Barring any injuries, the Bengals have all of their big needs on the defensive side of the ball. But, with safety, defensive tackle, and edge rusher set, only cornerback and linebacker could possibly use some help.
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report agrees and is predicting the Bengals to go out and acquire Miami Dolphins All-Pro linebacker, Jordyn Brooks. However, there is one issue: Davenport’s prediction features a trade package that makes no sense.
Bengals trade prediction would make no sense despite landing All-Pro LB
“Cincinnati Bengals receive: LB Jordyn Brooks. Miami Dolphins receive: 2027 Round 2 pick, 2028 Round 4 pick,” Davenport predicts.
The Bengals are an obvious team in need of a veteran linebacker, and the Dolphins are a team that’s shown a willingness to trade away some of their veterans, which was best seen with the Jaylen Waddle trade.
There is no questioning the fit and theory of sending Brooks from the Dolphins to the Bengals. That alone makes a lot of sense.
However, the package that Davenport is predicting here is way, way too much for the Bengals to give up for Brooks.
Brooks is an All-Pro linebacker who is coming off a 183-tackle (99 solo) season with 3.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble, and three passes defended.
Those are some incredibly impressive numbers. The issue here is that Brooks, the 28-year-old who is under contract for the next two years, is a linebacker.
It’s not a position that teams value that highly, and while the Bengals would surely love to add Brooks, spending a second and fourth rounder on him would be a bit too much.
Linebackers don’t go for that much in trades. Even though Brooks is an All-Pro, he isn’t of the same all-world caliber that Roquan Smith was when the Chicago Bears traded him back in 2022.
Smith went for a second and fifth rounder along with A.J. Klein, and Davenport is predicting Brooks goes for a bit more than that.
As nice a pickup as Brooks would be for the Bengals, that’s a bit too steep a price to pay, and wouldn’t make sense for Cincinnati.
