The nice thing about figuring out the quarterback position is that it allows a team to get great value in the first round of drafts while other teams try to get it right.
Case in point, the Cincinnati Bengals sitting happy with Joe Burrow and being able to get good value at other spots.
Just look at a new mock draft from Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema, where a quarterback rush that sees four passers come off the board in the top 10 pushes Georgia tight end Brock Bowers to the Bengals at No. 18:
Bowers’ stock is all over the place. Some have him going No. 5 to the Chargers, while others have him dropping to the end of the top 20.
Still, the Georgia product is one of the best receiving tight ends we’ve seen come through, but I wonder whether the league will be more cautious on first-round tight ends, given how Kyle Pitts has not been given the kind of volume that justifies top-10 value.
There’s plenty of debate leaguewide about tight end values, but getting a big, versatile target for the offense right as it possibly loses Tyler Boyd makes a lot of sense.
Granted, there’s also a debate about whether the Bengals should address the trenches on either side of the ball in the opening round, too. But it would be hard to complain about Bowers and the mock is the latest example of how a quarterback rush could help the Bengals on draft day.
