Bengals get A+ scenario in bye week mock draft

At the bye week, the Cincinnati Bengals appear to have roughly two major needs when eyeballing the 2023 NFL draft.

Buy Bengals Tickets

Offensive tackle and cornerback stick out as the major needs given the struggles of the former and the injury woes suffered by the latter.

But the first round is a place of luxury while taking best-player available too, and that’s just what the Bengals do while picking 16th in a new mock, selecting Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer.

Bleacher Report’s Derrik Klassen provided a quote within the analysis:

“Mayer gives them the best chance at finishing skill player nirvana. Though not quite the blocker his size (6’5”, 265 pounds) suggests, Mayer is a menacing pass-catcher. The junior prospect effortlessly finds the ball and plucks it out of the air like an apple off a tree. He’s a smooth mover for a man his size, too, making him a tough cover when playing man coverage or in the red zone.

It would be a rough pick to complain about too, given the way it would complement the trio of pass-catching weapons already in place and the chance it helps mask any contractual losses such as Tee Higgins.

Mayer is a huge target that has already shown great production as a pass-catcher, too, so there would seemingly be little risk involved. He’s scored 14 touchdowns over the last two seasons with plenty of time left to run up the numbers more.

While the mock outlook will change on a week-to-week basis as always, it’s hard not to think of Mayer as one of the best possible targets for the Bengals.