Bengals hope Woodside brings competition at backup quarterback

The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside in the seventh round of the draft to bring competition to the backup position.

Entering the 2018 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals needed a quarterback. Not as a starter, but to replace the hole left behind by former Bengals backup A.J. McCarron who left for the Buffalo Bills this offseason. The team signed quarterback Matt Barkley but are looking for competition at the backup role behind Dalton.

Drafting Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside in the seventh round, Cincinnati brought competition in the quarterback room. With third-string quarterback Jeff Driskel as an unknown, aside from knowing he’s injury prone, this could be his replacement come 2018 training camp. According to head coach Marvin Lewis, the Bengals thought about trading up to get Woodside earlier but instead got him in the seventh round.

There are a few analysts who think that Woodside is exceptionally underrated and would have been a steal in the fifth round. The question that haunts many fans is whether he was the quarterback they wanted all along. There have been discussions about the Bengals wanting Oklahoma State Mason Rudolph who had grades as early as first-round selection potential.

Rudolph, who worked out with Dalton during the offseason leading up to the draft, was a quarterback many thought the Bengals had interest in. Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up in the third round to select Rudolph right before the Bengals back to back picks. Is this something to note and maybe the Steelers thought the Bengals wanted Rudolph and decided to trade up and grab him before they could?

I guess we will never know whether the Bengals were strongly considering taking a quarterback in the third round, but they grabbed one that has some high praise in round seven. Following his redshirt season after his sophomore year, Woodside threw for 4,129 yards, 45 touchdowns, and only nine interceptions. His 2017 campaign wasn’t as remarkable but still impressive with 3,882 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

Woodside holds the Toledo career record for throwing yards (10,514) and touchdowns (93), 45 of which came in 2016. Showing high accuracy with a completion percentage of 65.1, his best was in 2016 with a 69.1; he could be a solid backup prospect for Dalton if not this year than next.

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Barkley and Driskel have shown nothing promising in their careers to indicate a backup role for Dalton. If we learned anything from the Philadelphia Eagles last season, it’s that having a good backup quarterback is a big factor in having success. If Woodside can develop with the Bengals and become that backup quarterback that can step in and keep them alive or afloat, he was a steal in the seventh round.