Whatever the Plan is, the Bengals Have Draft Capital to Execute

The NFL Draft is creeping closer. The one thing Bengals fans agree on is wanting some sort of clear plan. With five sixth round picks, Cincinnati should be able to get whomever it covets.

When you look at any sort of Bengals pre draft material this year, one thing stands out. They have five picks in the sixth round. A fair portion of guys picked in the sixth round won’t be in the NFL for more than a cup of coffee, a handful will be journeymen, and maybe five will make a real impact in the league.

Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round. He is an extreme example. Still, however unlikely it may be, every team knows that finding a diamond in the rough can change a franchise. Thus, even late round draft picks have decent value.

Cincinnati’s front office needs to understand this along with one other thing. You might find one sixth round diamond in the rough, but a single team is not going to find five in one year. Some of those extra picks are best used as leverage.

The one thing that has become abundantly clear is that no one really has a good feel for what the Bengals are going to do in Nashville on Thursday night and beyond. There are many reasonable paths to take. Getting in front of a team like the Bucs to snag Devin White make sense. The same goes if Cincinnati’s decision makers have indeed fallen in love with quarterback Dwayne Haskins and feel like he may not be there at 11. Cincinnati could also make a move to grab some other quarterback in the late first round or early mid rounds.

There does not appear to be a top flight offensive lineman the Bengals would have to make a move for, but you never know. Whatever the Bengals want in the draft, five sixth round picks is a significant start towards being able to get it, and a bargaining chip they need to use.

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"A slam dunk mock draft for the Cincinnati Bengals"