Bengals Draft Depot

The 10th pick in the draft could be the key to who's available to the Bengals at 21! Jacksonville owns that pick and could go several different ways. I think the three biggest and most probable options for them would be DE, Safety, and Inside LB. They also have been rumored to be interested in CJ Spiller and there's an outside chance they could even take Clausen if he falls to them. With how they've been burned on first round WR's, I doubt they'd take a chance on Dez Bryant, especially with his latest "controversies" or whatever you wanna call them.

I think the most likely pick is going to be Derrick Morgan, he's the top DE according to most draft gurus and it's obvious why he's the complete package with protypical size and an every down player. Here's how this could affect the Bengals, if Morgan is the pick and the Bengals are targeting either Brandon Graham or Jason Pierre-Paul it may make it unlikely either fall to them and almost certainly one will be gone. Besides teams could be thinking one or both are best players available, two teams have their biggest needs at DE, Tennessee and Atlanta. Also in Graham's case he's seen as an OLB in a 3-4 as well. If the Jags don't take Morgan, there's a real chance one of those 2, if not both could/will be there at 21.

Unfortunately Safety is also a huge need for Jacksonville, and that could be the position the Bengals most want to draft in the first. This could hinge on a couple things, maybe Eric Berry falls to 10 which is very unlikely. More likely he's gone, and if the Jags take Earl Thomas that could not only blow the chances of them getting Thomas or Mays in the first, but also could affect who would be available at Safety in the 2nd. If Thomas gets by Jacksonville there's only 2 teams I think would take him SF and Miami and both have bigger needs elsewhere. So he could be available at 21 and if not Mays almost certainly will be if that's a direction the Bengals want to go. If all 3 are gone by 21 there's no one else worth that pick at Safety, but late in the first and early in the 2nd teams could start jumping on the remaining players at Safety leaving no one of value for them in the 2nd as well.

The last of the remaining picks that are most likely is Rolando McClain, ILB, who they are rumored to be very high on. That pick would almost certainly mean that atleast one of either Graham, Pierre-Paul, Thomas, or Mays will be available when the Bengals are on the clock. And very likely more than one would be there. The only downfall would be that could bring the Giants into play on a DE, but I honestly think they'd go OLB in Weatherspoon before one of the DE's.

The best thing that could happen is if they take an unexpected in either CJ Spiller or Clausen. Clausen would be the best as it'd leave Seattle or SF to most likely use a pick on Spiller, but either one of them would leave all of those defensive players on the board with ten picks before the Bengals are up. Of those ten you'd have to think either Clausen or Spiller will go somewhere in there. Also whatever OT is left out of Davis or Campbell will be picked. And probably a Dez Bryant pick somewhere in there, but if not that could also leave him available. Another pick of those 10 is Pittsburgh and they're either gonna go O line or Corner so that takes care of 4 of those picks.

Obviously almost every pick affects the draft every year, but Jacksonville's pick this year could really either help the Bengals or screw them. They have two big needs at the same positions the Bengals could very well be targeting, and Dez Bryant is a wild card for them just as he is for us. So come April 22nd watch what happens when the Jaguars are on the clock especially close because it's most likely gonna determine who's available for our Bengals at the positions they should/could be targeting the most.