Our sister site, Draft Wire, and our buddy Luke Easterling just released their latest mock draft and the Cincinnati Bengals make a charge for some interior help in this one.
Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum has been heavily linked as a prospect that could help the Bengals tremendously and in this particular mock draft, the Bengals take advantage of Linderbaum’s slide down the board to move up a few spots to secure his services.
Easterling has the Bengals swinging a deal with the Buffalo Bills to move up from 31 to 25 to select the Iowa center.
Both the Titans and the Bucs could use interior offensive line help, which could push the Bengals to leap in front of them to make sure they land the last of this year’s first-round talents in that group.
Linderbaum may lack ideal length, but he’s an athletic, smart and physical blocker who would be the perfect cherry on top of Cincy’s overhaul in the offensive trenches this offseason.
Using Jimmy Johnson’s draft trade value chart, the No. 31 pick is worth 600 points and the No. 25 pick is worth 720 points. Interestingly enough, the Bengals’ No. 95 pick is worth, you guessed it, 120 points, evening out the trade.
Of course, in this scenario, the Bengals could end up throwing in an extra pick for good measure, especially if they want to ensure they get ahead of Tennessee, as Easterling notes. The bottom line is it wouldn’t cost too much to move from 31 to 25 if the Bengals really want Linderbaum, a player that would really sure up Cincinnati’s offensive line depth.
