Cincinnati Bengals: Why Dre Kirkpatrick Could Be X-Factor In 2013
Jun 12, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals corner back Dre Kirkpatrick (27) during work outs at mini camp at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
It’s only been one year since we have seen some of the 2012 Cincinnati Bengals draft rookies play. Kevin Zeitler played extremely well and some analysts believe he was one of the better players at his position. Mohamed Sanu came into the receiver position for 5 games, until ultimately ending up lost for the season.
However, 3 of those 5 games, Andy Dalton had above a 109% QB rating. Marvin Jones then became the #2 and showed some promise here and there. Vontaze Burfict, although went undrafted, was a very big surprise to the Bengals and has tremendous upside. There’s many other draft picks the Bengals made last year, but it seems many people have been mostly quiet about one guy. That being the 17th-overall selection of the 2012 draft in cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick.
Kirk was the Bengals’ first overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft because of the Carson Palmer trade to the Oakland Raiders. Kirkpatrick was argued as the #2 best CB to come out of the draft that season, but few questioned if he was the most physical. He actually did receive some game time last season on special teams and defense, but it seems a lot of Bengals fans have already written him off. While some people are looking forward to a defensive backfield that features Leon Hall, Terence Newman, and Adam Jones, they can’t forget that the Bengals are basically getting another 1st rounder in Kirkpatrick.