Quite a bit has been written lately about how the Cincinnati Bengals should attack the 2023 NFL draft.
For most, two positional themes reign supreme over all else — make the offensive line and tight end a priority early.
From there, though, some want to see pass-rusher take precedence in the draft approach. Others, such as The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner, say the Bengals should focus one of the team’s first three picks on cornerback:
No. 28: Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee
No. 60: Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa
No. 92: Garrett Williams, CB, SyracuseThe Bengals land a 1-2 punch in this mock: a true right tackle in Wright and a terrific potential complement to Irv Smith in LaPorta. This feels like a Joe Burrow-friendly approach and, frankly, that’s how Cincinnati should be operating now.
Darnell Wright and Sam LaPorta are very common picks for the Bengals at this point in mocks.
Garrett Williams is new, though. He’s an outside boundary prospect, which is what the Bengals need even after the signing of Sidney Jones. And his draft stock is a bit of a question mark after an ACL tear in October 2022.
Onlookers can see the merit in attacking a premium spot like cornerback relatively early though given how important it is and how shaky things are for the depth chart in Cincinnati at the position.
