The tight end room for the Cincinnati Bengals could get a serious makeover this offseason.
Hayden Hurst, Mitchell Wilcox and Drew Sample are all free agents, hence mock drafts often featuring the Bengals addressing the position in the first round.
But the Bengals don’t need to hit the position in the opening rounds — the 2023 draft class is wildly deep at the position.
Just ask NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, who, on a conference call with reporters before the scouting combine said it’s the deepest draft class for tight ends he’s seen in a decade.
In fact, as The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. noted, Jeremiah has 11 tight ends graded in the top three rounds:
Jeremiah goes on to say he has 11 tight ends with a top three rounds grade on.
Remember, #Bengals are a blank canvas at the position right now. None of their TEs from last year are under contract.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) February 24, 2023
Translation: The Bengals can probably seek out their tight end of the future after Round 1 unless the value at No. 28 is just stunning.
Maybe that’s the play for the Bengals. If the depth of this rookie class suppresses the tight end market and Hurst doesn’t get the deal with another team he’d like, perhaps he comes back and the team drafts a backup to develop for the future.
No matter how the Bengals play it, they have a good problem to have thanks to this particular draft class — although they can’t say the same about this offensive line draft class.
