Well the moisture level of the dough might start out different, so even after deep frying they could wind up moister. But I don’t think I could judge the dryness of donuts (either kind) to bagels because the texture is so different.
Maybe that’s the crux of the thing: it’s hard to separate different elements of texture. Bagels are denser than most crusty breads too and maybe OP is reading that as dryness.
Well the moisture level of the dough might start out different, so even after deep frying they could wind up moister. But I don’t think I could judge the dryness of donuts (either kind) to bagels because the texture is so different.
Maybe that’s the crux of the thing: it’s hard to separate different elements of texture. Bagels are denser than most crusty breads too and maybe OP is reading that as dryness.