National Signing Day: Cincinnati Bengals Style

Dec 23, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) is sacked by Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins (97) during the second half of the game at Heinz Field. The Bengals won the game, 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

College football’s annual National Signing day is here, and NFL.com did their own version of NSD by picking the elite, blue-chip NFL players that they would recruit to their team. While most analysts chose from the likes of Aaron Rodgers, J.J. Watt, and Calvin Johnson, Adam Rank listed Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins as one of the premier prospects.

We thought we’d look at some of the Bengals players, and give them a star rating based on if they were unsigned prospects:

The Elite, All-Pro 5-Stars

Defensive Tackle Geno Atkins

Wide Receiver A.J. Green

Offensive Tackle Andre Smith

The Pro Bowl-Caliber 4-Stars

Quarterback Andy Dalton

Right Guard Kevin Zeitler

Cornerback Leon Hall

Defensive End Michael Johnson

Offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth

The Solid Contributor 3-Stars

Cornerback Adam jones

Defensive Tackle Domato Peko

Tight End Jermaine Gresham

Runningback BenJarvus Green-Ellis

Safety Reggie Nelson

Left Guard Clint Boling

Wide Receiver Mohamed Sanu

Wide Receiver Marvin Jones

Linebacker Vontaze Burfict

Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick

Center Kyle Cook

Punter Kevin Huber

Filling out the rest of the roster are the 2-stars. As with most elite college programs, you rarely see any 1-star or unranked recruits. In essence, the above players are the core of the Bengals roster going forward, or at least that’s how we view it.

What do you think? Johnson too high? Nelson too low? Leave your comments and let us know.

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