The Bengals’ brass continues to add to their reputation as an inadequate lot despite contract extensions with star wideouts Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Of course, had they not been late to the party, extensions last year to both receivers and stud DE Trey Hendrickson would have made things much less complicated now. Regardless, in an offseason where Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin promised this wouldn’t be the same team – they would improve etc., they did very little. The only signing of any consequence was former Green Bay DT T.J. Slaton.

Instead of being in a position to freely take the best player available, they have massive holes at both offensive guard positions and with Trey Henderickson’s status still in limbo, the same old issues on the defense. Instead of improving the squad, Tobin and ownership managed to weaken an already putrid offensive line and somehow make a defense even worse. Time will tell.

Two noted additions fall outside of the roster. Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden replaces long time DC Lou Anarumo. The change should result in a defense that is far more aggressive which should mirror their high-octane offense. New offensive line coach Scott Peters has a Herculean task in front of him but no doubt will be an improvement over Frank Pollack.

Mock draft numero uno will include picks through the Bengals pick at number 17:

1- Tennessee: Cam Ward QB, Miami. I would trade down – they likely won’t.

2- Cleveland: Travis Hunter DB/WR, Colorado. Tough sport for the Browns, another good trade down scenario but QBs are not driving this draft.

3- New York Giants: Abdul Carter DE, Penn State. My top player in the draft.

4- New England: Ashton Jeanty RB, Boise State. The Patriots have improved dramatically – they shock the world selecting the Barry Sanders clone.

5- Jacksonville: Mason Graham DT, Michigan. A run stopper will help the edge rushers for new HC Liam Coen.

6- Las Vegas: Will Campbell OT, LSU. Building the foundation in Vegas with mastermind HC Pete Carroll.

7- New York Jets: Armand Membou RT, Missouri. The Jets oline was putrid last year – the youngster with a high ceiling helps immediately.

8- Carolina: Mykel Williams DE, Georgia. Big edge rusher who will start immediately.

9- New Orleans: Sheduer Sanders QB, Colorado. Saints new HC Kellen Moore wants his guy and a breath of fresh air with confidence – that happens with Sanders.

10- Chicago: Omarian Hampton RB, North Carolina. A surprise pick but with the genius that is Ben Johnson, could do wanders with the combo of Swift and Hampton, as he did in Detroit.

11- San Franciso: Kelvin Banks OT, Texas. Surprisingly the Niners have a ton of holes, given their draft position, Banks makes sense here.

12- Dallas: Tetairoa McMillan WR, Arizona. Highly productive in college – now getting nitpicked, can flat out play.

13- Miami: Walter Nolen DT, Ole Miss. The Phins have heard the ridicule and deep down know it – they are soft.

14- Indianapolis: Jalon Walker LB, Georgia. Versatile player who can provide pass rush and has coverage skills.

15- Atlanta: Will Johnson DB, Michigan. High level corner coming off of injury – should start and make a difference out of the gate.

16- Arizona: Tyler Booker OG, Alabama. A road grader who should help Kyler Murray’s progression.

17- Cincinnati: In this scenario, TE Tyler Warren falls to them. I would Bang The Drum for Warren. He is an elite playmaker who uses his immense size and strength in both receiving and blocking. Many will look at the holes at guard and clamor for the pick – however, no guard in this class is worth a mid-first round pick, Warren has the potential to be a Hall-of-Famer. Edge could certainly be the pick however; this is a deep edge class where there isn’t much separation in the top ten with the exception of Abdul Carter. If they select Warren, I would be euphoric, but I think they will likely follow their typical modus operandi drafting based on traits instead of production. If so, the pick will likely be Texas A&M DE Shemar Stewart. In terms of filling the box score, Stewart has astonishingly low production but in fairness, watching the tape shows a guy getting a high number of pressures but misses sacks and TFLs regularly. Stewart’s athleticism and strength are unquestioned – could develop into a big time DE.

For more Bengals coverage check out The Bang The Drum Podcast featuring Scott Dryden and Steve Zornes – available on Spotify and Youtube.

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