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Group shot: Cincinnati Bengals rookies, the Who Dey mascot and service members at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base take time out for a group photo at the base on Friday, May 15, 2026. THOMAS GNAU/STAFF
A group of the Cincinnati Bengals 2026 class of rookies got a glimpse of teamwork Wright-Patterson-style, as they visited with airmen and Space Force guardians at the Air Force base Friday, May 15.
“I may be commissioned to the Marine Corps, but everyone here is on the same team,” said defensive tackle Landon Robinson, an Akron native and 2025 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. “Everyone here is here for the same mission, the same fight. We’re all here to fight for the United States of America.”
Robison’s home-state Bengals selected him in the seventh round of the draft with the 226th overall pick. He is the 20th Naval Academy graduate to be drafted by an NFL team.
But he is just the fifth Navy Midshipman to be drafted in the past dozen years.
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Cincinnati Bengals rookie defensive tackle Landon Robinson shakes an airman’s hand at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on Friday, May 16, 2026.
“It’s so cool to be able to share their experiences and be able to tell them I went to the Naval Academy — and to see the surprised look on their faces at first,” a smiling Robison said of speaking with Wright-Patt airmen and Space Force guardians. “They say, ‘Oh, that’s super-cool.’”
“It’s so moving, to be with them and to share their stories,” he said. “Everyone has different background.”
Many of these rookies are just starting to understand how famous they may one day become. They spent much of a Friday lunch-hour at the Wright-Patterson Community Center taking photos with military members, signing Bengals gear and just talking.
“It felt great, for sure,” said defensive end Cashius Howell, selected in the second round of the draft.
Howell is a Kansas City native looking forward to playing the Chiefs in Cincinnati on Dec. 13.
“It feels good,” he said. “I grew up kind of liking them.”
Linebacker Eric Gentry was signed as an undrafted free agent to the Bengals. “I think I’m still in love with it,” Gentry said of the game, speaking with a group of airmen. “I think I’m getting better and better at it. … People say, ‘You’re still under a ceiling.’ There is no ceiling, if you don’t put that at the top of your head.”
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Bengals rookie linebacker Eric Gentry holds forth with a group of airmen at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on Friday, May 15, 2026. THOMAS GNAU/STAFF.
Air Force 1st Lt. Sarah Packard, who works in public affairs for Air Force Materiel Command, was enjoying the moment.
“We’re very grateful that the team was able to come out here,” Packard said. “They were very interested in learning about what we do here at Wright-Patt. It was just a great opportunity to share what we do and also to interact with all the players.”
Chief Master Sgt. Mike Sierra told the players that they were visiting “one of the most strategically important installations of the United States Air Force,” as well as “hallowed ground” in the annals of aviation history.
Sierra invited the Bengals to look out the dining room window roughly to the northwest, to a slice of Huffman Prairie outside the main Wright-Patterson flight line.
“Right here, right over there, was where the Wright Brothers came back (from North Carolina) to perfect powered flight,” he told them.
The rookies are regular visitors to the base, stopping by once a year, typically in May or June.