History has shown that draft night can yield some unexpected results. As optimism fills the air and the clock continuously ticks, front office personnel feels the pressure to pull the correct strings and get their team the personnel they need. The Bengals should absolutely capitalize on this desperation and aggressiveness.
There will undoubtedly be a few teams who are looking to add one of the top-flight quarterback prospects in this year’s draft to shore up the position. However, it can be hard to nab one, as they typically go early and often, with teams trading up to secure their services.
If a franchise is unable to secure one of the free-agent quarterbacks and misses out on the starter caliber signal-callers in this year’s prospect pool, expect Bengals ownership to receive a phone call.
Although the first wave of free agency will have already come and gone at this point, there will still be some veterans on the market to supplement any positions the Bengals may fail to address in the 7 rounds of the draft. So, getting Dalton’s $17.7 million off the books at this point could still help.
In addition, this year is an especially good draft class to pick up extra selections. The Bengals usually receive at least one compensatory pick, but unfortunately, they blanked in that regard this off-season. For an organization that loves bringing in large draft classes, trading Dalton on draft night may be their preference.