With the scouting combine in the books, the floodgates have fully opened on mock draft season.
While much of the focus goes to free agency given the market’s opening soon, nothing really compares to the hype of draft season.
And so far, the Cincinnati Bengals keep making out pretty well in mock drafts despite picking 31st.
One recent mock draft had the Bengals actually landing a top 15 player at No. 31. And some might argue the Bengals do the same in the latest effort from ESPN’s Todd McShay.
There, McShay has the Bengals landing Boston College interior offensive lineman Zion Johnson:
“Central Michigan’s Bernhard Raimann is one option, but I love Johnson’s versatility and smoothness in pass pro. He posted a 32-inch vertical jump, 32 reps on the bench press and 7.38 seconds in the three-cone drill — all top-four results among the offensive linemen. Riley Reiff and Quinton Spain are off to free agency, and Johnson is putting in work at center, meaning he could play any of the interior positions for Cincinnati.”
Johnson’s outstanding physical testing matches his superb tape and the fact he’s got experience at all three interior spots is one of the most attractive things possible for the Bengals.
Picking 31st, the Bengals probably aren’t going to stumble into a starting rookie right tackle. That’s a job probably earmarked for a free-agent veteran. But Johnson represents one of the big upgrades and instant-impact rookies the team could find to immediately fix one of the three interior spots.
