Cincinnati Bengals’ slide in draft position shouldn’t be an issue

The Bengals’ two-game winning streak has seen them drop slightly in the 2021 draft order, but they are still in a great spot to add talent in April.

Most fans of the Cincinnati Bengals have had Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell in stripes for some time now, crowning him as the answer to the team’s offensive line issues. However, two late-season wins now mean Sewell will likely be gone by the time Cincinnati is on the clock when draft day rolls around.

This development has upset some fans, but players and coaches don’t care about draft position. They want to win and no one can really knock them for doing so. Even with the slide down the draft board, there is still good news to be had.

The Bengals will still get a great talent with the fifth pick

Fixing the offensive line is the top priority for the Bengals and Sewell is an outstanding prospect. Still, Cincinnati has won six games in two years. That means they could use help pretty much everywhere.

Armed with this information, a “Sewell or bust” mentality is foolish. This franchise can still come out of the first round with another weapon for Joe Burrow like Kyle Pitts or Ja’Marr Chase. Another highly touted tackle prospect is also an option. The Bengals are fine at the fifth pick or elsewhere in the first round.

The counter to this argument is, “Can you imagine if late wins had cost us Burrow last year?” While that’s an understandable stance, Cincinnati probably would have taken Justin Herbert in that case and found themselves in roughly the same spot they are now. Thus, a late-season mini slide down the draft board that will likely still result in a top-five pick is not bad news. The only bad news is…

Draft position is not a problem for the Bengals, developing talent is.

Cincinnati’s recent draft history is not particularly good. Where they have drafted hasn’t seemed to matter. Burrow and Tee Higgins have incredibly bright futures as long as their health allows.  Jessie Bates III and Tyler Boyd have turned into really good players as well.

Overall though, the last Pro Bowler the franchise drafted was Tyler Eifert in 2013. Pro Bowls are a bit of a fluky stat and Bates deserved the designation this year. Still, the Bengals have struggled mightily to develop their draft picks in recent years. Regardless of where Cincinnati is drafting in each round, that is what must change for the organization to truly turn things around.