The Cincinnati Bengals seem like a team capable of anything in the 2023 NFL draft as this year’s scouting combine comes to a close.
Some of the prospect stock movement of potential Bengals targets speaks greatly to how well-positioned the team seems to be near the end of the first round and beyond.
Case in point, one of the lesser-talked-about strategies popping up in a new three-round mock draft from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, who has the Bengals taking Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright in the opening round:
“In the case of Wright, who has played both left and right tackle for the Volunteers, you need look no further than the two-game stretch in which he faced off against Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. and LSU’s BJ Ojulari — two of the top edge-rushers in this class — and prevented either one of them from getting anywhere near cornerback Hendon Hooker. I asked Wright about all that when he took his combine podium session, and I was highly impressed with his ability to switch his game to beat two stylistically different edge defenders from week to week. The Bengals would love it if Wright could do that kind of stuff for them.”
The Bengals follow up with this in the next two rounds:
- 60. Cincinnati Bengals: John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota
- 92. Cincinnati Bengals: Jaylon Jones, CB, Texas A&M
Going double offensive linemen over the opening rounds might seem a bit strange. But it’s heavily dependent on what the team does in free agency. If key names like Hayden Hurst, Eli Apple, Vonn Bell and Germaine Pratt all return — and they all technically could with a bit of help from the market — it’s a viable strategy.
The Bengals surely wouldn’t mind an athletic offensive tackle who can come in and compete right away, if not start in place of the injured La’el Collins. Nor would they mind an interior player who can push Cordell Volson at left guard and otherwise provide an upgrade to the depth.
A double-lineman approach wouldn’t be too different from the team adding two defensive backs over the first two rounds a season ago. Dax Hill didn’t play much as a rookie, while Cam Taylor-Britt did. They’ll both start next year. A similar thing for the offensive line, provided free agency goes well, could help keep the contention window wide open.
