The Cincinnati Bengals defense needs plenty of help. Most people who watch Cincinnati know that cornerback is one of the strengths with Dax Hill and DJ Turner there, and the team is planning to sign both of them to long-term contracts.
However, it appears the team knows they need to be deeper at that position even if they accomplish signing both of their young budding stars, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway.
Because the franchise is expecting to sign Hill and Turner to multi-year deals, they weren’t targeting players who wanted multi-year commitments like Alontae Taylor or Jaylen Johnson. They are in the one-year market for this position, which makes sense given who they already have...
All of this to say, the Bengals are aware they need to add more to the cornerback room, especially after Marco Wilson signed with the Miami Dolphins, so expect the team to target a cornerback on Day 1 or 2 of the NFL Draft.
It is a good year to want to add a corner in the draft. It is a very deep position this year. It also looks increasingly likely the Bengals will be staring at a corner being the best available player when they are on the clock at pick No. 10.
It has been pretty common for Cincinnati to routinely end up with either LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane or Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, both of whom are considered the top corners in this draft. McCoy is just coming off an ACL injury from last year, so teams might be more informed on just how well he is recovering from that.
As for other players that many hope will slip to the Bengals, well, it just doesn’t look promising. OSU linebacker Sonny Styles really showed off at the NFL Combine, which has made it increasingly unlikely he will make it all the way to them, and OSU safety Caleb Downs is considered by quite a few as one of the best players in the draft.
It also doesn’t help that so many of the teams drafting prior to Cincinnati need pass-rush help as well. Their only hope for a pass rusher or one of the blue-chip OSU players to fall is if a couple of offensive tackles get taken or a team wasn’t turned off by USC wide receiver Makai Lemon’s combine interviews.
It is interesting that the team sees a need for depth at a position where they already have such talented players. If only they felt that way about most positions. Conway also noted the Bengals opted to sign the three free agents they did rather than add a linebacker (as if they had to choose). They just seem to be risking too much by banking on Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter to both take a serious step forward in Year 2 after such poor showings in their rookie year.
It really is good to desire depth at all of your positions. However, it seems the team isn’t willing or cares to go through the work to have the flexibility to add the depth many hope they would.
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