Mock drafts before the upcoming scouting combine aren’t going to deviate much from the usual path for the Cincinnati Bengals.
With notable needs at tight end, in the defensive secondary and along the offensive line, mock drafts that go beyond the first round still tend to hit those usual spots.
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar just put out a fresh three-round mock that has the Bengals standing still at No. 28 and taking Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer:
“Is it unfair to give Joe Burrow yet another target? Perhaps, but nobody ever said that the NFL was fair. The Bengals already have the league’s best receiver trio in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. Adding Mayer would not only give Burrow a reliable target in the quick game (think Zach Ertz), but would also add a blocking expert who could help with Cincinnati’s ongoing protection issues.”
Mayer is a very common pick for the Bengals and with Hayden Hurst, Mitchell Wilcox and Drew Sample all free agents, it makes sense. The team would really like to get more explosive at the position to mix up the schemes more. That said, it’s a very deep class they could find value at in any of the first three rounds.
Here’s what the Bengals do in the second and third rounds:
- 60. Cincinnati Bengals: Julius Brents, CB, Kansas State
- 92. Cincinnati Bengals: Matthew Bergeron, OT, Syracuse
Brents was on the Jim Thorpe Award watch list entering 2022 and as a redshirt senior, is just what the Bengals like in terms of experience and leadership. With Chidobe Awuzie still recovering from an injury and Eli Apple a free agent, cornerback still feels like a must.
And as much as Bengals fans might want to see the team use a first-rounder on the offensive line, especially with La’el Collins not a guarantee to be ready for the season, a weak overall class might mean a prospect like Matthew Bergeron and a free-agent addition or two is the only realistic way to solve the problems up front.
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