The team had to have been waiting for who they picked in the first round to decide their move. An if-then scenario. If DE is there, they don't sign a DE; if LB is there, they don't sign an LB; if Downs is there, if CB is there.

To some extent, they are still doing that for round 2, but a lot of their needs could be filled in free agency.

The easiest needs to fill in Free agency are WR and DE.

The most likely pick in RD two might be CB.

The Biggest needs are depth at OL and LB.

Needs

1. WR-Could fill this one with Keenan Allen or Curtis Samuel

2. Swing Tackle-Could fill this one with Jonah Williams

3. C/G-Could fill this one with Alex Cappa

4. DE-Could fill this one with Clowney, Bosa, Jordan, Miller, Fowler

5. LB-Could fill this one with Okoreke, Wagner, Shaq Thompson

6. CB-Could fill this one with Isiah Oliver or Jarius Sneed

QB Burrow 29 Flacco 27

RB Brown 27 Perine 27 Brooks 29

WR Chase 30 NEED

WR Higgins 29 Tinsley 27

WR Iosivas 27 Williams 27

TE Gesicki 28 Sample 27 All 28 Hudson 27

LT Brown 29 NEED

LG Fairchild 29

C Karras 27 NEED

RG Risner 27 Rivers 29

RT Mims 29 Ford 27

LE Murphy 27 NEED Johnson 28

LT Lawrence 28 Reader 28

RT Allen 28 Hill 28 Jenkins 28

RE Mafe 29 Stewart 30

WLB NEED Knight 29 Giles-Harris 27

MLB Carter 29 Heyward 27

S Battle 27 Dugger 27 Jules 27

S Cook 29 Anthony 28

CB Hill 27 Newton 28

CB Turner 27 Ivey 27

NB NEED Davis 27

K McPherson 28

P Rehkow 27

LS Wagner 28

LB, Nickel CB, C

Oline depth

2 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

LB

Nothing against drafting one or more but they need a reliable vet in the worst way. Take some pressure off Knight and he could still show out but he's it right now. With the DL sorted (on paper at least) they need more than Cook behind them to make tackles.

Have to think the job looks a lot more tempting now for any FA's that are left.

LB aside the top of the 2nd is usually a good place to get IOL but with some of the top OT's expected to make that move inside in the pros there may be more separation than usual. Someone is going to fall out of the 1st that might not have a complete game but would fill a role. Still think TE is a possibility.

give me LB in both 2 and 3 please. we are good at CB. davis can play nickel, grab a later round guy or roll with what you have. with this deep LB class, ill take 2, as theyll both be in the knight or better talent range. that gives you 4, albeit young, linebackers to toy with on the season.. and secures the future there.

14 hours ago, T-Dub said:

Nothing against drafting one or more but they need a reliable vet in the worst way. Take some pressure off Knight and he could still show out but he's it right now. With the DL sorted (on paper at least) they need more than Cook behind them to make tackles.

Have to think the job looks a lot more tempting now for any FA's that are left.

LB aside the top of the 2nd is usually a good place to get IOL but with some of the top OT's expected to make that move inside in the pros there may be more separation than usual. Someone is going to fall out of the 1st that might not have a complete game but would fill a role. Still think TE is a possibility.

Is Milano still available?

Giants might look to trade down from 5 to get more picks, maybe we move in to that spot.... ijs.

1 hour ago, Jungletiger said:

Giants might look to trade down from 5 to get more picks, maybe we move in to that spot.... ijs.

With what draft collateral? That's alot of value we'd have to give up. Losing a bigname player on the current roster? Future draft picks? Giving up most of this years picks?

I dunno, I just don't see it, but I guess anything is possible as we found out with Dex.

4 hours ago, Griever said:

Is Milano still available?

Alyssa? Yeah she's still looking good at 50, shoot your shot..

🥷

As for Former Bill LB Matt Milano he is still on the street as far as I can tell, nothing about visits popping up, no news at all really that I can find.

IDK what he's got left but I'm sure he'd be better than throwing more rookies at the problem. Expect they'll bring someone in before camp. Wouldn't surprise me if they've already got a deal in place for one or more players and are waiting until next week to make it official.

I will be happy if they use the Day 2 picks on some combination of CB, LB, or edge. I mentioned D’Angelo Ponds and Keionte Scott in another thread as options at the nickel spot. I think both would play immediately and be instant upgrades at the position. Jacob Rodriguez at LB would do the same thing. I think at least one of them will make it to pick #41.

They still have 7 picks after the Lawrence trade with 5 total on Day 3. I expect to see at least one pick at OL, but not sure about the other positions on offense. TE is considered to have good depth in this year’s class but RB is not considered very good at all. WR could be in play but is not an area of need this coming season.

10 minutes ago, Inigo Montoya said:

I will be happy if they use the Day 2 picks on some combination of CB, LB, or edge. I mentioned D’Angelo Ponds and Keionte Scott in another thread as options at the nickel spot. I think both would play immediately and be instant upgrades at the position. Jacob Rodriguez at LB would do the same thing. I think at least one of them will make it to pick #41.

They still have 7 picks after the Lawrence trade with 5 total on Day 3. I expect to see at least one pick at OL, but not sure about the other positions on offense. TE is considered to have good depth in this year’s class but RB is not considered very good at all. WR could be in play but is not an area of need this coming season.

Just get football players, BPA all the way. Nothing's fundamentally changed in that they're not going to fill immediate needs with draft picks. What are they going to do, bench Knight after his rookie season in favor of another green-as-grass rookie? How does that help them win games in 2026?

If there's anything to like about this offseason - we have the luxury of picking the guys that we like the best when it's our turn.

LB might be the most plug and play position with the shortest shelf life. If you feel good about Carter being the "cover" guy, then you have the opportunity there to take a hybrid EDGE/SAM. Outside of that - there's really not much value in drafting a guy early to cover the run. Dime a dozen and available as UDFA's. There's an ocean of Joe Bachie's out there. An LB that can cover a TE is ALWAYS a good choice.

Nickel CB is a great fill for the future as well. We need to start restocking the cabinet.

KR/Slot - Big need here. The team also shopped Iosivas in the offseason, so I think they feel good about a few mid round WR's.

Other than that - we're looking at finding some backups. Good job FO.

4 minutes ago, LostInDaJungle said:

The team also shopped Iosivas in the offseason,

and no takers? I wonder what kind of price they were asking.. I think they could do a lot better but he's not terrible.

1 minute ago, T-Dub said:

and no takers? I wonder what kind of price they were asking.. I think they could do a lot better but he's not terrible.

Rumors have it that the best they got was a low 7th rounder.

The fact is that his "trendline" is not up. After a strong sophomore season, he had a flat third year. Surprisingly, credited with zero drops on 58 targets.

I think it speaks to the depth of the WR class coming in.

1 minute ago, LostInDaJungle said:

Rumors have it that the best they got was a low 7th rounder.

The fact is that his "trendline" is not up. After a strong sophomore season, he had a flat third year. Surprisingly, credited with zero drops on 58 targets.

I think it speaks to the depth of the WR class coming in.

Seems like one of those "looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane" types where they got enamored with the measurables. He's had some pretty good games but then disappears for weeks at a time. WR3 behind the likes of Tee & Ja'Marr should have it easy. If he can't get open with those 2 drawing coverage a 7th round pick might be generous.

10 hours ago, LostInDaJungle said:

If there's anything to like about this offseason - we have the luxury of picking the guys that we like the best when it's our turn.

LB might be the most plug and play position with the shortest shelf life. If you feel good about Carter being the "cover" guy, then you have the opportunity there to take a hybrid EDGE/SAM. Outside of that - there's really not much value in drafting a guy early to cover the run. Dime a dozen and available as UDFA's. There's an ocean of Joe Bachie's out there. An LB that can cover a TE is ALWAYS a good choice.

Nickel CB is a great fill for the future as well. We need to start restocking the cabinet.

KR/Slot - Big need here. The team also shopped Iosivas in the offseason, so I think they feel good about a few mid round WR's.

Other than that - we're looking at finding some backups. Good job FO.

I agree with most of this but disagree that LB is plug and play with rookies, its actually the position least plug and play and takes time for young guys to learn and know their roles, we saw this last year with the struggle of both LBs we saw it when Wilson and Pratt were both rookies. Which is why I'm hoping they get a vet after the draft to help the young guys out.

As for positions, yup give me Ponds as our Nickle, get me another LB that can grow into the role in a year when our 1 year Vet LB rental is gone, get me a Center that can take over for Ted, get me a Guard for when Risner is gone.

Only thing I think the team needs now is a vet LB, then all the other picks are guys who get time and can grow into the role without having to start as rookies. That turns into wins.

10 hours ago, T-Dub said:

and no takers? I wonder what kind of price they were asking.. I think they could do a lot better but he's not terrible.

Yoshi is really good in the redzone, but thats about it. The guy never gets open unless its on a broken play. I'm REALLY hoping that Eric All is 100% ready this year and injuries behind him for good because he could be the key to opening up this offense to be even more deadly than it already is.

6 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

Yoshi is really good in the redzone, but thats about it. The guy never gets open unless its on a broken play. I'm REALLY hoping that Eric All is 100% ready this year and injuries behind him for good because he could be the key to opening up this offense to be even more deadly than it already is.

That'd be great but a part of me wishes they'd move on and draft someone healthy. With that spinal fusion on top of the busted knees I'm going to be holding my breath every time he gets hit. We don't need another Eifert situation.

6 minutes ago, T-Dub said:

That'd be great but a part of me wishes they'd move on and draft someone healthy. With that spinal fusion on top of the busted knees I'm going to be holding my breath every time he gets hit. We don't need another Eifert situation.

I mean if the docs dont think he can do it, then yeah I agree. I think you got to rely on your medical staff and what they evaluate. For me TE is a luxury that we can add when we get other positions filled.

1 minute ago, Jamie_B said:

I mean if the docs dont think he can do it, then yeah I agree. I think you got to rely on your medical staff and what they evaluate. For me TE is a luxury that we can add when we get other positions filled.

Pretty sure a bunch did tell him to hang it up so he went doctor shopping until he found ones that would clear him

Either way they're not likely to fill positions with rookies. I mean the glaring need at LB is due to trying to fill the need at LB with a pair of rookies. I don't think the solution is more rookie LBs.

It's a fairly deep class of true TEs from what I've read. No one too remarkable after Sadiq iirc but plenty of Sample types with a little more speed & the ability to run a route.

IDK if their board will fall that way but we have to get over this drafting for needs stuff in general because it rarely works out. More often they end up reaching and it burns a draft pick without solving the problem.

Just now, T-Dub said:

Pretty sure a bunch did tell him to hang it up so he went doctor shopping until he found ones that would clear him

I'd be curious what the team docs thought.

6 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

I'd be curious what the team docs thought.

Yeahh I don't think NFL team-appointed doctors actually give a shit if he's paralyzed for life, call me a cynic. These are the same people that sign off on "concussion-like symptoms" every week.

I suspect if they started shutting players down out of caution they wouldn't keep their job for very long.

3 minutes ago, T-Dub said:

Yeahh I don't think NFL team-appointed doctors actually give a shit if he's paralyzed for life, call me a cynic. These are the same people that sign off on "concussion-like symptoms" every week.

I suspect if they started shutting players down out of caution they wouldn't keep their job for very long.

Sure, but if the guy is so beat up that even playing is a problem, why waste the roster spot? The team Docs should just keep it real with the team and says so.

32 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

Sure, but if the guy is so beat up that even playing is a problem, why waste the roster spot? The team Docs should just keep it real with the team and says so.

That magical "potential"

No question he's a helluva TE so it's in their interests to keep running him out there. That's how we get Eifert 2.0

Or he never misses another game and he's an All-Pro Bengals TE for the next 5-10 years, that'd be great... But the signs are pointing the other way and it would be foolish to ignore them.

9 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

I agree with most of this but disagree that LB is plug and play with rookies, its actually the position least plug and play and takes time for young guys to learn and know their roles, we saw this last year with the struggle of both LBs we saw it when Wilson and Pratt were both rookies. Which is why I'm hoping they get a vet after the draft to help the young guys out.

As for positions, yup give me Ponds as our Nickle, get me another LB that can grow into the role in a year when our 1 year Vet LB rental is gone, get me a Center that can take over for Ted, get me a Guard for when Risner is gone.

Only thing I think the team needs now is a vet LB, then all the other picks are guys who get time and can grow into the role without having to start as rookies. That turns into wins.

Compared to CB's? Safeties?

There's a big reason LB's don't go high with the rare exception being cover LB's.

If it wasn't plug and play we wouldn't have traded Wilson and Pratt to start two rookies. You're kind of undermining your own point there.

Logan Wilson only had a 5 year career. They're like running backs - hit the hole, take a ton of hits, and retire at 28. Linebacker is probably the most disposable position in the sport. They take the most "contact per snap". Much like RB's who have the shortest career on the offensive side of the ball, LB's have the shortest careers on the defensive side at right around 2.5 years.

Unless a LB is a true three down guy (Can cover on third down), the difference in production between a mid tier vet and a hungry rookie is not worth the extra cap hit. In a league where the average LB is done by age 28-29, the Bengals FO is actually being smart by treating the position like a revolving door of young, cheap talent rather than over-investing in a position with a short expiration date.

15 minutes ago, LostInDaJungle said:

Compared to CB's? Safeties?

There's a big reason LB's don't go high with the rare exception being cover LB's.

If it wasn't plug and play we wouldn't have traded Wilson and Pratt to start two rookies. You're kind of undermining your own point there.

Logan Wilson only had a 5 year career. They're like running backs - hit the hole, take a ton of hits, and retire at 28. Linebacker is probably the most disposable position in the sport. They take the most "contact per snap". Much like RB's who have the shortest career on the offensive side of the ball, LB's have the shortest careers on the defensive side at right around 2.5 years.

Unless a LB is a true three down guy (Can cover on third down), the difference in production between a mid tier vet and a hungry rookie is not worth the extra cap hit. In a league where the average LB is done by age 28-29, the Bengals FO is actually being smart by treating the position like a revolving door of young, cheap talent rather than over-investing in a position with a short expiration date.

We didnt let Wilson and Pratt go because the rookies were ready to take over, neither Wilson or Pratt were good anymore.