The Cincinnati Bengals closed out their trip to the 2023 NFL draft by taking Miami Hurricanes cornerback DJ Ivey in the seventh round.
A 6’1″, 189-pound cornerback who led the Hurricanes in interceptions with three as a sophomore, Ivey has those Bengals prerequisites that ask him to play for a big program and be productive in doing so.
Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline wrote about Ivey’s strengths recently:
Athletic cornerback with solid size, speed, and upside. Stays with assignments, tracks the pass in the air, and displays a burst to the ball out of his plant. Battles receivers throughout the action and works to get his head back around, then positions himself to defend the throw. Fights hard to make his way up the field, defending running plays or screen passes.
DJ Ivey was drafted with pick 246 of round 7 in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 7.87 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 474 out of 2222 CB from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/vUTBt9gZIA pic.twitter.com/hcQiq7Nf9Z
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 29, 2023
Ivey will be in a scrap on the back end of the depth chart in training camp, but there’s certainly something to be said for his hefty amount of experience.
The Bengals had already drafted corner DJ Turner in the second and safety Jordan Battle in the third. As far as value goes, it’s always smart to get a premium position like corner and some of the guys they passed on could always end up in undrafted free agency.
