Cincinnati has the 18th pick when the NFL Draft kicks off with the first round Thursday. The Bengals then select at No. 49 in the second round, and they have an extra third-round pick on Friday. The final four rounds take place Saturday, and Cincinnati has two picks in each of the sixth and seventh rounds, on top of their original selections in the fourth and fifth rounds.
“We know we are close,” Bengals director of college scouting Mike Potts said in a pre-draft press conference Tuesday. “We’ve got a really good roster. It’s far from perfect. There’s definitely some holes we need to fill. What our holes may be perceived as right now are not necessarily what they could be into the future. … There for sure is a sense of urgency. We think we are right on the cusp of being where we want to be. We’ve got 10 picks. We’ve got flexibility. If there’s certain guys that we really target and really covet and think can get us over that hump, we would be stupid to not go and do what it takes to get a certain player if we think it can make that kind of impact. It’s weighing what you potentially could have to give up to get those players, talking about a trade. There’s a lot of guys in this class we think could be impact players that can get us where we want to be.”
The Bengals immediate needs are at wide receiver and depth at defensive tackle, offensive tackle, cornerback and running back. They also could use a tight end for the future.
This draft class is deep at a lot of positions, Potts said, pointing out the quarterbacks, offensive linemen, wide receivers and defensive backs, specifically. The Bengals are set with their top two quarterbacks and have a third option with the signing of Logan Woodside on Tuesday, but those other positions are ones that could be addressed in the early rounds.
At No. 18, Cincinnati might have to decide whether to go best player available or grab someone to fill an immediate need.
“That’s always tough,” Potts said. “You would like not to drop down a level of player, for sure, to reach for a need. I think all things being equal, as long as there’s not other issues there, you would like to fill the need, ideally, if you have two guys with the same grade up there. It’s a constant conversation. Those are kind of the things that we finished up over the past week or so. When you’re combining guys with very similar grades between different positions, what we do is go through and stack them. In this case, picking at No. 18, we stack them one through 18, one through 49 and so on into our later round picks as well. We’ll obviously re-calibrate that board going into Day 2 and Day 3.”
The Bengals have four picks in the top 97, which gives them four opportunities to draft starting-caliber players over those first three rounds. It also gives them some “ammo to potentially trade up” or “explore trading back,” Potts said.
Depth in the draft class at some of the positions of need for Cincinnati will factor into those early decisions as well. The defensive tackle position is not necessarily as deep, which could lead to an early selection, but the offensive tackle spot also would be one of particular interest with Trent Brown only on a one-year contract.
Potts said the offensive tackle class is “very good,” and the Bengals have guys they like at the top of the group as well as in the second, third and fourth rounds and beyond. They see college reps as an important piece of the puzzle at that position as they weight different factors “physically, mentally, character-wise, medical wise,” Potts said. Those with fewer snaps might have been held back by injuries, others need more development and some just blossomed later and still have high-quality tape.
Age also can factor in, as a younger player might have a longer career and more opportunity to develop into something greater, but the Bengals don’t eliminate a guy just because he’s older – something seen more now because of the COVID year.
The Bengals also tend to like versatility, but coach Zac Taylor said that isn’t as necessary for an offensive lineman anymore now that teams are bringing up eight of those guys on game days thanks to practice squad elevations. It does help at the wide receiver, defensive back and defensive line positions.
Potts said the Bengals’ scouting department has leaned into the coaches and their experience, as well as advanced analytics and historical rankings as they went about evaluating players that would fit the scheme and locker room. They’ve spent the last few days fine-tuning their draft board and gathering every last little bit of information they can to ensure the right guys end up in the building, but Potts said there won’t be any major shifts. Cincinnati will be ready to go.
“It’s just minor tweaks here and there,” Potts said. “Due to more information coming in. Due to more conversation between our personnel staff, coaching staff, ownership. There are so many different factors. It could be scheme fit or one of our coaches maybe had another Zoom with the guy and was really impressed with what he did talking football through watching tape. There are a lot of different factors, but the board is pretty solidified right now.”
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