A dive into the Cincinnati Bengals’ undrafted free agent class

Here, we take a look at the Cincinnati Bengals’ 2020 undrafted college free-agent class to see what each player brings to the table. 

Yesterday, we took a look into 4 of the Cincinnati Bengals’ 10 undrafted free agents that seemed to have the best odds to make the 53-man roster. Today, we’ll dive into the backgrounds of the other 6 members of the class.

We’ll also take a crack at placing each prospect in the order of their likelihood of making the roster. At this point though, the gap between each appears to be pretty small.

It’s an uphill battle for any undrafted player to make the team and none of these guys should be expected to do more than secure a spot on the practice squad and continue developing.

OL Clay Cordasco

Clay Cordasco has had a long and winding path to the NFL. In high school, he participated in a variety of sports. On the gridiron, he played tackle, tight end, and on the defensive side of the ball.  Truly speaking to his athleticism, he also played baseball, lacrosse, and participated in track & field.

After graduation, he started off playing at Pierce community college at tackle. He then moved up the ladder, finding his way to Los Angeles Valley Junior College. Ultimately, he landed an opportunity with Oregon State.

He took a redshirt season and found some playing time in the following campaign. He finally broke through in his senior year, where he started all 12 games for the Beavers.

The Bengals are no strangers to keeping undrafted offensive linemen around. They were able to develop Trey Hopkins into a quality starting center and Alex Redmond has stuck around through two coaching regimes.

Cordasco could be the next in line with his size (6’5, 314 lbs.) and explosion. The Bengals could certainly use additional talent along the trenches and Cordasco has improved every step in his career so far. Perhaps he can do the same in stripes.

CB Isiah Swann

Isiah Swann had an impressive career at Dartmouth. He finished his 4-year run with the highly credited institution as the all-time leader in interceptions (17) and pick-sixes (4). He was even named Ivy League Defensive Player of the year in 2018.

It’s difficult to tell just how athletic Swann is because he wasn’t invited to the combine and he didn’t get the opportunity for a pro day. Without those numbers, any guess on his likelihood of making it in the Queen City is largely speculation.

Still, he’s an extremely smart football player and has incredible production, albeit at the FCS level. He’s a dark horse and someone Bengals fans should keep an eye on.

DL Trey Dishon

There’s a lot to like about former Kansas State defensive tackle Trey Dishon. He’s a four-year starter and team captain, giving the Bengals two of the things they value the most in their prospects.

He also seemed to get better as each year rolled by. In his senior season, he was able to secure 5.5 tackles for a loss and 3 sacks, which aren’t bad numbers for an interior defensive lineman.

Unfortunately, Dishon is attempting to make the roster at one of the Bengals’ strongest positions. Dishon spoke with the Cincinnati Enquirer after the draft and mentioned defensive line coach Nick Eason was in close contact with him throughout the entire process. This could suggest that the Bengals were contemplating taking him in the later parts of the draft or that they’ve got a specific developmental plan in place for him.

RB Kevin Mensah

Kevin Mensah put together quite the stat line during his time in Connecticut. In each of his final two seasons, he topped 1,000 yards rushing. Not to mention, he found the end zone 9 times during his last campaign with the team.

There’s reason to believe he still has room to grow as well, as he decided to enter the NFL early after his true junior year.

Unfortunately, the Bengals look pretty set at the running back position. Joe Mixon and Gio Bernard lead the attack, while Trayveon Williams and Rodney Anderson each offer great upside. However, both Williams and Anderson have shown injury concerns, which could leave the door open just enough for Mensah to sneak in.

DL Tyler Clark

Tyler Clark finds his way to Cincinnati after an inconsistent career for the Georgia Bulldogs. He played in all 4 years during his stay in Athens and showed flashes of good play. However, scouts knock him for his tendency to disappear at times.

He needs more development but he has the frame and athleticism that could allow him to stick around. The odds of him making the 53-man roster look slim though. In the back end of the defensive line room, the Bengals’ have guys such as Renell Wren, Ryan Glasgow, and Josh Tupou, who all have pretty good upside. Clark could find his way to the practice squad in the hopes of reaching a new level in the big leagues.

RB Devwah Whaley

Devwah Whaley started out his career with a lot of hype. He entered the college ranks as a 4-star recruit and was able to rush for a solid 600 yards as a true freshman. From there on out though, he found himself gaining fewer and fewer yards.

It’s interesting to note that his attempts went down each season as well. That certainly plays a role in his decline in production. The question is why he saw less action after such a promising start. One possible explanation is a coaching regime switch that occurred in Arkansas during Whaley’s time with the team.

The Bengals more than likely believe there is still more untapped potential to Whaley and decided to give him a shot to see if they could develop him further.