3 college football games Bengals fans should be watching in Week 7

Week 7 of the college football season is here. Cincinnati Bengals scouts are working hard to get the 2022 NFL draft board set. Here are three games to watch this week that will help your Bengals draft board come into focus.

Kentucky vs. Georgia

Darian Kinnard is currently ranked 33rd overall by Pro Football Focus. That would have him as a late first, early second-rounder. Mel Kiper Jr. has Kinnard as his seventh-best offensive tackle. That would put Kinnard in the late first to mid-second round territory.

With teams always looking to upgrade their offensive lines, he could very well end up being a first-rounder but the draft is a curious enterprise. Most thought Alex Leatherwood was a second-rounder. He ended up going in the first round to the Raiders. Kinnard is a better player than Leatherwood. So from over here, it would seem to be wise for a team to have him on their board as a mid-first rounder.

Week after week, it seems that Kinnard to the Bengals would be a match made in the jungle. We do not know what the future holds for Riley Reiff. What we do know is that he is on a one-year deal.

Furthermore, Kinnard plays on the right side for Kentucky. If the Bengals were to take him, we would not have to hear about the difficulties of changing positions for rookie linemen all year long.

This week is critical for the Wildcats offensive tackle. The Georgia Bulldogs’ defensive line is ferocious. If he can hold up against Georgia’s defensive barrage, Kinnard will cement himself as one of this year’s best offensive line prospects. I expect him to do so.

As for the Bulldogs, Bengals fans should watch the entire defense. Just watch everyone! But if there were one player above the rest to isolate as a Bengals fan, it is DE/OLB Adam Anderson.

Anderson, like Nik Bonitto from Oklahoma, would fit right in with a Lou Anarumo led defense. As of now, PFF has Anderson (17) ranked ahead of Bonitto (28). Kiper Jr. has Anderson ranked 21st overall.

Another reason to watch Anderson is that he will be going against Kinnard. It is going to be a must-watch one-on-one battle.

Anderson can stand up as an outside linebacker or line up as a 4-3 defensive end. This season, he has 4.5 sacks and counting. It helps that he has a disruptive defensive tackle in Jordan Davis. That allows him to cause havoc from the outside. D.J. Reader would provide the same support in Cincinnati.

The matchup between Anderson and Kinnad will go a long way in determining which of these players the Bengals may choose. And, if Kinnard, for some reason, is still there in the second round, Cincinnati could end up with both.

Here is a litany of other Bulldogs you should try to spot during this game:

• Tykee Smith (S); day two grades
• Lewis Cine (S); day two grades
• Derion Kendrick (CB); possible first-rounder
• Channing Tindall (OLB)
• Nolan Smith (OLB)
• Nakobe Dean (ILB); 1st round grades
• Jordan Davis (DT); 1st/2nd rounder
• J.T. Daniels (QB)
• Zamir White (RB)
• Jamaree Salyer (OG)
• Justin Shaffer (OG)

More Wildcats hoping to hear their names called in April:

• Chris Rodriguez Jr. (RB)
• Wan’Dale Robinson (WR); Junior
• Josh Paschal (EDGE)
• Yusuf Corker (S)