A common theory going into the 2022 NFL draft was that the Cincinnati Bengals would use a draft pick on the punter position.
And frankly, it made perfect sense with Kevin Huber still a free agent and the team a year removed from landing Evan McPherson, a major piece of the Super Bowl run.
But from the sounds of it, the Baltimore Ravens might have played a part in preventing this from happening.
NBC Sports’ Peter King detailed a conversation with Ravens GM Eric DeCosta that hinted the Bengals might have had eyes on the position:
“And here, the Bucs picking 133rd and the Bengals picking 136th were sniffing around punters. He heard one of them liked Stout. “If you have a chance to fix a position for 10 years with a punter about to be 40, you’ve got to consider that strongly,” DeCosta said. Thus the punter at 130.”
Those Ravens took Jordan Stout at pick No. 130 in the fourth round, which started a mini-run, as the Buccaneers then took Jake Camarda at No. 133. At No. 136, the Bengals grabbed offensive lineman Cordell Volson.
Matt Araiza, commonly mocked to the Bengals, didn’t come off the board until No. 180 in the sixth round.
While there isn’t concrete proof the Bengals would take a punter over an offensive lineman, it’s clear at least that other teams were worried they’d do it.
Funnily enough on the Monday after the draft, the Bengals announced Huber’s re-signing.
