Cincinnati Bengals: Final 7-round 2019 NFL mock draft on draft day
By Kenn Korb
Round 3, Pick 72: Greg Little, OT, Ole Miss
Cincinnati may have done well on offense early last season, but even at their peak, the offensive line continued to be a deteriorated mess. Every spot on the line could stand to improve, especially the right side.
A new young tackle prospect would be a great start at fixing their past mistakes on the line, and Greg Little is the best one available. He definitely has the prototypical profile a team would love to have and, if given time to improve his technique, he could definitely be the left tackle of the future for the franchise.
Round 4, Pick 110: Andy Isabella, WR, UMass
I entered the past couple seasons believing in the array of talents that Cincinnati accumulated at the wide receiver position. In both cases, all we got were fickle glimpses of what might be. Meanwhile, besides A.J. Green there has been a breakout showing from Tyler Boyd but little else.
2017 first-rounder John Ross made a couple of short-range scores but is a bust on the outs. None of the potential believed to be had by late-rounders and undrafted guys has turned into consistent production.
Suffice it to say, an infusion of new hope and higher-potential talent in the pass-catching department would be appreciated. Andy Isabella may be small (5-9), but in a league where slot options can dominate gameplans and get defensive coordinators fired, he’s the perfect sort of speedy option an offense needs to function at a high level in today’s league.
Round 5, Pick 149: Josh Oliver, TE, San Jose State
When Cincinnati’s offense was at its best last year, it was because of Tyler Eifert being a threat over the middle. When he went down, the offense dipped exponentially in power and production. They may have liked long-term backups Tyler Kroft and C.J. Uzomah to step in, but Kroft is gone and Uzomah is both an injury risk in his own right and an option who hasn’t exactly lit up the box score when he’s been on the field.
Oliver would potentially be a huge improvement on a number of these fronts. If everyone’s healthy, he lets the team attack the middle of the field and the end zone with multiple huge receiving targets. When Eifert inevitably goes down with injury, he would be the best receiving option available at the position on the roster.
He could be the long-term replacement for Eifert as well (how long can a franchise bank on a guy who always gets hurt in catastrophic ways?). So even if he wasn’t used much as a rookie, he would have a giant role on the horizon.