Mel Kiper Jr. doesn’t hold back in his analysis of what the Cincinnati Bengals offense needs in his latest mock draft, which arrives just before the scouting combine really kicks off.
Picking Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave for the Bengals at No. 28, Kiper brings up the production Joe Burrow has received from the position recently:
“As I mentioned in January, the Bengals got 556 receiving yards from their tight ends this season, which ranked 29th in the league. Most of that came from Hayden Hurst, who is a free agent. If they want to get quarterback Joe Burrow some more help, the 6-foot-6 Musgrave makes sense. A knee injury ended his 2022 season after two games, but he was emerging as a star. Though he had just 47 career catches for the Beavers, his potential is immense. He’s also expected to test extremely well at the combine. Like Kincaid, Musgrave is still battling to be the No. 1 tight end off the board.”
It’s a fair point. Hurst enjoyed a breakout year of sorts and might not be back. The entire depth chart for the team at the position heads to free agency, too.
Notably, it’s not a secret the team has been wanting to get more athletic and dynamic at the position for some time. Musgrave might accomplish that right away. It’s also a future-minded pick (like Dax Hill was with Jessie Bates last year) because Tyler Boyd has one more year left on his deal. Making a dynamic tight end the third option in the passing attack would make the offense much harder for opponents to prep for each week.
In this particular mock, Dalton Kincaid was off the board. The Bengals choose Musgrave over Georgia’s Darnell Washington and other needs like help in the offensive trenches or along the defense.
