Zac Taylor reacts to the Bengals snagging wide receiver Colbie Young in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Cincinnati Bengals wrapped up Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft by using the 140th overall pick, acquired in a trade-down with the New York Jets, on Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young. It’s a pick with upside and baggage in equal measure, and Zac Taylor knew exactly what he was walking into.
“Did a lot of research on him,” Taylor said. “Pitcher went down there. I feel good about the background work we did on him. Georgia felt really confident in his character.”
That level of specificity from a head coach on a fourth-round receiver tells you everything about what this evaluation centered on. Young was arrested on misdemeanor charges of battery and assault in October 2024, suspended from the Georgia program, and didn’t play in the team’s final nine games. The accuser later retracted her statement, the charges were dropped, and Young pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct in January 2025, receiving 12 months probation, according to Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald.
The Bengals weren’t blind to the press surrounding Young. But as Taylor confirmed, the organization sent a scout down to Georgia in person to do the homework and ascertained there’s nothing to worry about.
Now let’s talk about the actual football player.
Young ran a 4.49 forty at 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds and earned a 9.00 relative athletic score, putting him in the 90th percentile athletically among wide receivers. That combination of size and speed doesn’t grow on trees.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com noted he uses his size, muscle, and catch radius to beat cornerbacks in tight quarters and above the rim, calling him a nightmare to bring down after the catch.
The production, though, never matched the tools. Young posted 26 catches for 358 yards and a touchdown in eight appearances at Georgia in 2025 before a broken leg shut him down. His college career was one interruption after another, suspension, injury, transfers, which explains why a player with his physical profile slipped to pick 140.
Still, the Bengals believe the tools are real and the character situation is resolved. One scout told The Athletic’s Dane Brugler during the pre-draft process: “He likes to be coached and is a student of the game. Reserved but polite. He’ll fit in any locker room.”
Taylor also confirmed Saturday that Young is in the mix right away for the No. 3 receiver spot, competing with incumbent Andrei Iosivas. Young grew up idolizing Tee Higgins’ contested catch ability, and now he gets to learn from Higgins directly. That’s not nothing for a young receiver still developing his route tree.
The ceiling here is a red-zone weapon and chain-mover who wins 50-50 balls and creates yards after contact. The floor is a depth piece who never puts it together consistently enough to threaten for a starting job. At pick 140, that’s a bet worth making, as long as the Bengals did their homework. Taylor says they did.