5 draft prospects the Bengals should trade up for after free agency

4. Andrew Booth Jr.

I can’t speak for every Bengals fan, but most seem pretty excited about how the Chiefs offseason has unfolded. Wouldn’t it be great if the Bengals could ruin it just a teensy bit more?

Kansas City holds picks 29 and 30 in front of the Bengals; I believe that they will go wide receiver and cornerback with those two picks. I also believe the Bengals will be in the market for a first-round cornerback, so I’ll ask again, wouldn’t it be great if we moved in front of the Chiefs and stole their pick?

Looking at possible suitors, the Packers (who hold pick 28) will likely not want to move behind the Chiefs, as they are in the market for a wide receiver as well. That leaves the Buccaneers at pick 27. Moving up four picks won’t cost the Bengals a ton, possibly a fourth-round pick this year and a day-three pick next year; a price they should be willing to pay if Andrew Booth Jr. is still on the board.

Diving into Booth as a prospect, his name is falling on many draft boards; but why is that? While training for the NFL combine, Booth injured his quad.

This same injury caused Booth to miss Clemson’s pro day.

Fortunately for the Bengals, a quad strain could cause potentially the best cornerback in this class to fall far enough for them to make a move. If he makes it to picks 29 or 30, I don’t see the Chiefs passing him up. Booth, in my opinion, is much better than the options I project the Bengals will have available at pick 31 (Kaiir Elam, Kyler Gordon, etc.).

When judging what makes a NFL cornerback a great player, they need to be able to cover star talent, but tackling is something I always look for when studying incoming prospects. Booth’s closing speed is already at a pro-level; his ability to make up space in the open field is enough for me to be all in on him as a prospect.