As of right now, the Cincinnati Bengals currently sit 15th in the 2024 NFL draft order.
But some projections see that getting much, much worse.
Over at The Athletic, draft order projections actually suggest the Bengals could end up earning the ninth overall pick courtesy of a projected 6.7 wins.
A look at the welcome-to-the-top-10 moment:
… Cincinnati. Oof. A team coming off back-to-back AFC title game appearances (and a heartbreaking Super Bowl LVI loss) is staring down a last-place finish in the AFC North, with star QB Joe Burrow done for the season. Mock’s latest projections have the Bengals at just 6.7 wins — they’re already sitting on five victories — and a 0.4 percent playoff chance. It doesn’t help that every other team in the division currently holds playoff positioning, including Baltimore atop the entire AFC at 9-3.
Given how they’ve looked since Joe Burrow went down, the team potentially winning just one more game wouldn’t be all that shocking.
In order to take advantage of messy AFC playoff standings and avoid a top-10 pick, the Bengals will need massive improvements across the board while rallying around Jake Browning.
If that doesn’t happen, onboarding a top-10 prospect would be a pretty good silver lining, though.
