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On the day the Cincinnati Bengals won big thanks to a blockbuster NFL draft trade between the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers, a report surfaced suggesting the Bengals had previously talked with the 49ers about a blockbuster trade of their own.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bengals were one of the teams the 49ers talked with while looking for ways to trade up: “49ers have been attempting to move into top five picks for several weeks now, per sources. They discussed trading up with Dolphins at 3, Falcons at 4, Bengals at 5 and ultimately decided to go as high as they could, per sources. There were no trade-up talks with the Jets at 2.”
Instead, the 49ers struck a trade with the Dolphins to earn the third pick. Those Dolphins then secured a trade with the Eagles to move back up to six.
Long story short, it has been obvious the Bengals would field calls for the fifth pick and likely at least entertained the idea of a trade with the 49ers — which would have moved them down to 12th.
As the board stands now, the Bengals should have their shot at either Penei Sewell or Ja’Marr Chase if they stay at fifth overall. If they don’t, they have been aggressive enough in free agency to trade down, acquire more picks and still upgrade the roster significantly during the draft.
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