The 2023 NFL draft still feels wide open for the Cincinnati Bengals despite a big free agency addition like Orlando Brown.
Part of that comes down to the trade request submitted to the team from Jonah Williams, who was projected as the starting right tackle next year after Brown’s arrival.
Mock drafts would agree. One new three-round effort from Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon has the Bengals adding a right tackle with Oklahoma’s Anton Harrison:
Harrison can slide into either tackle spot as a pass protection specialist, though he has the feet to also play inside if needed. Adding Orlando Brown Jr. was a great move, but the Bengals best not be done upgrading the line in front of Joe Burrow.
Harrison has been a very popular target for the Bengals in mock drafts and he makes sense as a possible instant starter. He would also mean flexibility for the Bengals in possibly clearing at least one big cap hit by moving on from Williams or even La’el Collins.
The other two rounds unfold like so for the Bengals:
- 60. Bengals: Keeanu Benton, DT, Wisconsin
- 92. Bengals: K.J. Henry, EDGE, Clemson
Pressure creators for Lou Anarumo’s defense are never a bad thing. This outcome suggests a few things, though. For one, it hints the team finds at least one starting-caliber tight end in free agency (Foster Moreau, perhaps?). It also would suggest finding corner depth and a solution at running back either in free agency or later rounds of the draft.
Either way, free agency has unfolded in a way that gives the Bengals options, something stressed by a quality three-round outcome like this.
