2017 NFL Draft: Cincinnati Bengals Final 7-Round Mock Draft

Round 2, Pick 9: Dion Dawkins, OT – Temple

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed yet, but the Bengals offensive line has become an atrocious mess. The group quickly went from an underrated unit at the forefront of Cincinnati’s offensive success to a pitiful group which let up 41 sacks last year. The situation has only gotten worse since the end of the year, with the two best players from the unit (left tackle Andrew Whitworth and right guard Kevin Zeitler) leaving for big money elsewhere.

With those players gone, we are looking at a lineup currently set to start Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher at the tackles and a completely unknown entity at Zeitler’s abdicated guard spot. Suffice it to say, they have a dire need for some help. Good thing there should be some available.

Though this offensive line class has routinely been talked down, there are some decent prospects to be found if you look in the right place, and a couple of them should be right around this selection.

Of those players, Dawkins appears to be the smartest play for them. Though other players may be more accomplished, Dawkins brings to the table the possibility of playing just about any spot on the line. He was a tackle in college, and though he projects to be a more suitable guard in the pros he could possibly still work at either tackle position.

With both of those outer spots being so direly in need of improvement, and that guard position still a glaring hole, having one guy who might be able to potentially handle any one of those positions for the now and the future is a way to cover multiple bases in one move.

They probably should grab another player later on, or could possibly hold out hope that either Ogbuehi or Fisher takes a major step forward, but expecting that from both and leaving that guard hole unfilled is just asking for another year of Andy Dalton getting ground into the dirt.

Alternative Selection: Sidney Jones, CB – Washington

The Bengals are a team that likes to let young players sit back and learn. That holds especially true at the cornerback position, where they’ve spent high picks in the recent past before, but stayed patient with them and slowly worked them into the rotation (Dre Kirkpatrick is a prime example).

That makes selecting a player like Jones all the more the perfect move for them.

Before you get to his injury problems (something which could possibly keep him out all year; if not, he may still be a limited player as he fully recovers), a player at his position on this team likely wouldn’t be playing much right away anyway.

Basically, this would effectively be a redshirt year for him with the Bengals no matter what his health situation was, and being able to grab someone who was highly regarded and expected to be high in the cornerback pecking order for this draft at this point would be a coup for Cincinnati.

While a move to improve their offensive line would fill an immediate need, picking up a corner takes care of the long-term view. Dre Kirkpatrick may be locked in for the next five seasons, but past him there are few long-term answers for the group.

Adam Jones has been on a steady decline for a couple seasons and should continue on that path; combined with his always-present off-field issues and the fact that the team can move on from him after this year (the contract runs through 2018, but next year is a team option), and his future may not reside in Cincinnati much longer. Josh Shaw has been just average in two seasons; meanwhile, Darqueze Dennard has been just plain bad.

Jones would definitely be a risk (Achilles tears have a sizable chance to severely damage a player’s explosiveness for the rest of their careers), but with a non-first round pick in a draft where the team has 11 total picks at their disposal, it is the sort of risk worth taking.