This is probably the least stressful draft i’ve seen for the Bengals since becoming a fan. We already have a quality starter at basically every position, the only positions I would say we need to improve at are Tight end and Left Guard. The crazy thing about this draft is that only two years ago we needed basically everything heading into the draft, now we are basically just drafting the best available player. It’s wild how fast we have came up as a team, the sky is the limit at this point.
Round one, pick 31- Tyler Linderbaum, Center, Iowa
Like I mentioned before, the only real needs we have are left guard and tight end, and this fills one of those needs. If we take Tyler Linderbaum in the first round he would most likely start at Center, which would move Ted Karras to the left guard spot. This move would immediately upgrade the offensive line even more, giving the Bengals one of the best offensive lines in the AFC. Drafting Linderbaum would also move Jackson Carman to the bench, which would give us more depth in case someone gets injured. There is a chance he goes before we pick, but if he’s there at 31 I think we should take him.
Round two, pick 63- Leo Chenal, Linebacker, Wisconsin
Leo Chenal is an underrated player for sure. Last year at Wisconsin he put up almost 100 tackles, eight sacks, and two forced fumbles, which is something that would help our already solid defense. My main reason for this pick is because there is only projected to be one tight end going in the first two rounds, and he will most likely be gone by the time we pick. Although he wouldn’t start right away, he would give us some more depth at linebacker and hopefully could turn into a starter one day.
Round three, pick 95- Isaiah Likely, tight end, Coastal Carolina
Picking a tight end at this spot would give Joe Burrow another target to throw to and would fill our last need in the draft. Isaiah likely would likely see the field a lot as a rookie if we drafted him considering our lack of depth and experience at the tight end position. His last year in college he put up 912 yards and 12 touchdowns, pretty solid numbers for a tight end. Adding him to an already great receiving core would make the Bengals offense even harder to stop.
Round four, pick 136- Coby Bryant, cornerback, Cincinnati
I think Coby Bryant is one of the most slept on players in the draft. I think a big reason for this is because his teammate, Sauce Gardner, is a projected top ten pick. Coby Bryant won the Jim Thorpe award last year for best defensive back in the country, putting up three interceptions two forced fumbles and 34 tackles. I think with the Bengals he would compete with Eli Apple for playing time, and would help out the secondary a lot.
Round five, pick 174- Haskell Garrett, defensive tackle, Ohio State
Haskell Garrett could step in right away as a replacement for Larry Ogunjobi. Although he kind of disappointed last year I still think he has NFL talent for sure. He put up five and a half sacks last year, and helped a lot in the run game. He would add depth to a defensive line that needs it.
Thoughts?
Tygibby 