Bengals 7-Round Mock Draft: Cincinnati gets a steal in 1st round

Round 6: Pick 196 – Gerard Wheeler, OC (Tulsa)

There wasn’t a graphic for Tulsa, unfortunately, but that’s where Gerard Wheeler played his college ball. The Bengals should probably target a center before the sixth round but this is how this particular mock draft played itself out.

Wheeler has appeared in 21 games and started 20 of those for Tulsa at the center position. The Bengals took Trey Hill in the sixth round of this year’s draft and he played right guard in one game before getting pulled. If he’s not an option at center moving forward, perhaps Wheeler could be an option at the position moving forward.

Round 6: Pick 197 – Brock Purdy, QB (Iowa State)

Some might wonder why the Bengals would spend a draft pick on a quarterback when they have Joe Burrow and that’s fair. Burrow will be in his third year next season and, depending on how he performs in 2022, could be due for an extension, tying him to Cincinnati for much longer.

Even with that being the case, Cincinnati needs to make sure they have a reliable backup for Burrow. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that Brock Purdy be the backup as a rookie, but once Burrow gets more seasoned, he’ll be okay not having an older quarterback as his backup. That could be where Purdy comes into play.

The Iowa State product was once seen as a likely first-round pick but his production has declined the past two years. With all of the draft picks the Bengals have for 2022, drafting a quarterback might not be such a bad idea.