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I think the Bengals pick at 18 will be one of these five players: Fuaga Latham Fautanu Mims Murphy

Trying to understand how the Chiefs have an easier schedule than either the Broncos or the Raiders. Make it make sense, please.

But if the scouting group has 1st round grades on 24 or so players, it would seem like you could move back 3 or 4 slots and still get a player you would value highly. Yes, the Bengals have 10 picks, but 4 of them are in the last 2 rounds. Those slots are usually guys who are mostly just priority free agent types. Here are the positions (and quantity needed) I would like to see addressed in the first 5 or 6 rounds. OL 2 DL 2 WR/ pass receiving TE 2 RB 1 LB 1 CB 1 That's a lot of needs there. Chances are they won't be able to adequately fill all of those holes through the draft.

If you read these interview quotes from Steven Radicevic, the Bengals director of scouting, it sure sounds like they would be more likely to move back a few slots than move up: GH: How do you view this year's draft, where the Bengals have the 18th pick in the first round? SR: I think it's a strong draft. Probably one of the better ones just positionally across the board. It's a deep draft, except maybe for a couple of positions. But I think it's probably one of the better drafts that I've been around where if you're in the top 25, you're getting a player you would normally get in the top 10. GH: You guys have been known to say the first round lasts for about 12 guys. This year, that's doubled? SR: Exactly. That's how I personally view it. I feel like you're going get a guy you have a legitimate first-round grade on rather than in years past, where if you were between 18-25, you're going to get a guy you've got a second-round grade on. GH: Does that depth last? SR: I would say so. At least for sure the first and second rounds. I feel like you're going to feel pretty good about those first two picks. They're guys that have legitimate first- and legitimate second-round grades where you're not reaching for a player there.

Agree that the Rams are a strong trade up possibility too. They have more draft capital this year than they have ever had before. But the Rams might prefer an EDGE like Latu over Murphy. Hard to say.

It's a shame that the Bengals got penalized in the 1st round tiebreaker for having a tougher schedule that the 4 other teams that finished with the same record. With the Bengals looking for OT help, The Saints(14) and the Seahawks are almost certain to draft OL themselves which figures to take 2 of the Bengals Big Board favorites off the board. A team that figures to get a lot of trade calls on draft night is the Jaguars at pick 17. Last year they were about 3 slots ahead of Cincinnati and took a small trade-back deal with the Bills to take an OT themselves. I could see the Jags trading back this year, but no more than 3 or so slots. I just wonder what it might cost the Bengals to move up one slot themselves. The Jags might prefer a trade with the Bengals if they aren't planning to draft OL themselves, even if the return is less than it would be with the Stealers(20) or another team in that general area. The Jags would know exactly what position would fall to them with pick 18 if they want a specific player.

I want a WR in the second round. Partly because of the incredible success that the Bengals have had with 2nd round WRs going back decades, but because there will be so many good ones going off the board around that slot. If Ladd McConkey should slip, he's definitely the one. Otherwise, I would love me some Roman Wilson, Ja'Lynn Polk, Ricky Pearsall...

Why wouldn't you want a WR? The draft is incredibly deep with them. The Bengals have to replace Boyd this year and likely Higgins next year. That to me is a double dip position, maybe a WR on Day Two and another one on Day Three.

Is there a position in this draft that you want the Bengals to avoid? For me it is safety. They have taken one in the premium rounds in the last drafts, neither of which figures to start this year. They brought in Stone and Vonn Bell to be the starters. They have a special teams ace in Tycen Anderson. So that is already 5 safeties. This isn't even a good year for safeties. What prompted this rant was a local media draft that had the Bengals taking 2 safeties, including one in the 3rd round. NOPE, please.

There are only 2 DTs that would be considered for pick 18, while there are more than a handful of OL prospects with remarkably similar grades. I just wonder if all of the OL votes were spread out among 5 or 6 different o-linemen.

I kind of prefer Latham to Mims myself. I expect Seattle to take Troy Fautanu with the 16th pick if he's still on the board. Seattle's new offensive coordinator was the OC for Washington last year. They have a big offensive line need too.

Plenty of rumors that the Stealers have already settled on Mims with pick 20, with the expectation that he will still be on the board. Mims would become the RT and Broderick Jones would slide over to LT. Georgia Bulldogs bookends.

That seems like an crazy high number. The Beast is the most detailed draft guide out there, and they only have the Big Four as certain 1st round picks. Beyond that: 1st-2nd: Ladd MConkey/Adonai Mitchell 2nd: Keon Coleman/Roman Wilson 2nd-3rd: Ricky Pearsall/Xavier Worthy/Malachi Corley/Troy Franklin 3rd: Ja'Lynn Polk/Xavier Legette/Malik Washington 3rd-4th: Devontez Walker/Jermaine Burton/Brendan Rice/Jalen McMillan I'm expecting the Bengals to take a WR on Day Two with one of their three picks. So I expect one of the above WRs to likely be a Bengal soon.

It's funny how much emphasis we put on a single pick on Day One when Day Two is where most of the team's starters come from. Even have an extra draft pick on Day Two this year. Off the top of my head these were the Cincinnati starters last season who were drafted in the 2nd or 3rd rounds - Hubbard/BJ Hill/Hendrickson/Wilson/Pratt/Taylor-Britt/Awuzie/sometimes Battle and/or Turner on defense. On offense there was Mixon/Boyd/Higgins/Orlando Brown/Cappa/sometimes Sample. There were only a few starters last season who were 1st round draft picks.

I think the 2 semi-realistic choices for pick 18 that I like the most are Fuaga and Murphy.

It isn't like Byron Murphy is just a pass rusher, he has some quality run defender traits too... Murphy plays with terrific leverage and has the lower body strength that gives him a strong base as a run defender. His relentless motor and short-area quickness cause him to be a major factor when pursuing a play laterally.

Wonder why Latham declines to do athletic testing? For what it's worth, Latham did not perform any athleticism testing during Wednesday's pro day. This is notable after he passed on the drills at the NFL Scouting Combine a few weeks back. That said, Latham still put on a workout for attending coaches and executives, and the Bengals seemed more interested in the other side of the ball.

This isn't necessarily what I would do, it's just what I think the Bengals might do. I'm not ready to remove Wiggins from the list of 10 names I posted, but I might take out Newton (maybe too early for him?) and add another CB. Maybe DeJean, but I also wouldn't rule out Quinyon Mitchell. The Bengals already have another DB from Toledo they really like, and Mitchell has plenty of the traits that Anarumo seems to prioritize. Of course DeJean has excellent versatility himself, no question.

I expect one of these ten players to be selected by the Bengals with pick 18. Some or even most of these players won't be still on the board at 18, but I expect them to choose from four position groups - OL/pass receiver/DT/CB. Who do you think should be subtracted or added from this list? These names are listed in alphabetical order, just a weird coincidence that all of the OTs and DTs are lumped together. 1) Brock Bowers, TE 2) Olumyiwa Fashanu, OT 3) Troy Fautanu, OT 4) Taliese Fuaga, OT 5) JC Latham, OT 6) Amarius Mims, OT 7) Byron Murphy, DT 8 ) Johnny Newton, DT 9) Brian Thomas, WR 10) Nate Wiggins, CB

Because it is a horrific draft year for NTs? That would be my guess.

The Bengals should have fixed the NT problem in free agency but obviously they didn't. Supposedly the reason they didn't offer Tartt was because of his attitude, even with a gaping hole at the position. If they don't like Sweat's attitude, hard for me to imagine them selecting him. Yes, even with the gaping hole still there.

Sweat seems to have other issues too. A lot of teams wonder how dedicated Sweat might be to reach his full potential in terms of conditioning and effort. What makes this arrest even more stupid is that every draft prospect should know to be extremely careful this close to the draft where their future gets determined. The fact that Sweat was this careless at this time calls into question his decision-making in general. It's about more than just one DUI.

Even before this incident I wondered if the Bengals viewed Sweat the way they did Dawand Jones before the 2023 draft. As an overweight but talented guy with some real off the field baggage. Sweat may not even be on their big board anymore.

2 and a half weeks until the draft where he could make life-changing money, and Sweat puts himself in a position to be arrested? What a knucklehead...hope it was worth it.